What is Adenine?
[[File:Adénine.png|right|thumb|Adenine chemical structure]] '''Adenine''' is one of the [[nucleobase]]s or basic [[molecule]]s which form [[DNA]] and [[RNA]]. They are usually called '''bases''' in [[genetics]]. ==Function== In DNA, adenine sticks to [[thymine]] with two [[hydrogen bonds]] to help in making the nucleic acid structures stronger. In RNA, which is used in the [[cytoplasm]] for [[protein synthesis]], adenine sticks to [[uracil]]. ==History== Adenine was sometimes called '''Vitamin B<small>4</small>''', but no longer.<ref>{{cite journal |journal=Biochem J. |year=1930 |volume=24 |issue=6 |pages=1827–31 |title=The assay of vitamin B4 |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_biochemical-journal_1930_24_6/page/1827 |author=Vera Reader |doi=10.1042/bj0241827 |pmid=16744538 |pmc=1254803 }}</ref> However, two B vitamins, [[niacin]] and [[riboflavin]], bind with adenine to form the essential [[cofactor]]s [[NAD]] and [[FAD]] respectively. Adenine when bonded to [[ribose]] forms [[adenosine]], part of molecules such as [[adenosine triphosphate]]. Some think that, at the [[origin of life]] on [[Earth]], the first adenine was formed by the [[polymerization]] (joining) of five [[hydrogen cyanide]] (HCN) molecules. This is not generally accepted.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Shapiro|first=Robert|title=The prebiotic role of adenine: A critical analysis|url=https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF01581575|journal=Origins of Life and Evolution of Biospheres|year=1995|volume=25|issue=1–3|pages=83–98|doi=10.1007/BF01581575|pmid=11536683|s2cid=21941930|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200326121524/http://www.springerlink.com/content/ru56122875200030/|archive-date=2020-03-26|access-date=2007-09-21|url-status=dead}}</ref> ==References== {{reflist}} ==Other websites== * [http://www.compchemwiki.org/index.php?title=Adenine Computational Chemistry Wiki] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930155007/http://www.compchemwiki.org/index.php?title=Adenine |date=2007-09-30 }} {{chem-stub}} [[Category:Organonitrogen com