A nitrogen-containing base is one of the three components that make up DNA and RNA; the other two being phosphate and sugar.
Nitrogen-containing bases are broadly categorized as purines and pyrimidines. The difference is that purines have two rings in their structure while pyrimidines only have one. The two purines are adenine and guanine and the pyrimidines include thymine, cytosine and uracil. Each purine binds with a specific pyrimidine. Adenine pairs up with thymine in DNA and with uracil in RNA. Guanine and cytosine always pair up with each other.
Each nitrogenous base is attached to a a phosphate group and a sugar molecule to make up a nucleotide. The sequence of these nucleotides determines the gene sequence in DNA.
Nitrogen-containing bases are broadly categorized as purines and pyrimidines. The difference is that purines have two rings in their structure while pyrimidines only have one. The two purines are adenine and guanine and the pyrimidines include thymine, cytosine and uracil. Each purine binds with a specific pyrimidine. Adenine pairs up with thymine in DNA and with uracil in RNA. Guanine and cytosine always pair up with each other.
Each nitrogenous base is attached to a a phosphate group and a sugar molecule to make up a nucleotide. The sequence of these nucleotides determines the gene sequence in DNA.
