Nucleic acid nomenclature
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2008-03-07T13:27:01Z
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[[Image:Numbered cytidine.png|thumb|Numbered [[ribose]] carbons on [[cytidine]].]]
[[Molecular biologist]]s use several shorthand terms when referring to [[nucleic acid]] molecules, such as [[DNA]] and [[RNA]], collectively referred to as '''nucleic acid nomenclature'''.
The most common is the representation of the [[base pair]]s as letters—an [[adenine]] [[nucleotide]] is abbreviated as '''A''', [[guanine]] as '''G''', [[cytosine]] as '''C''', [[thymine]] as '''T''', and in RNA, [[uracil]] as '''U'''.
Additionally, the positions of the [[carbon]]s in the [[ribose]] sugar that forms the backbone of the nucleic acid chain are numbered, and are used to indicate the direction of nucleic acids (5'->3' versus 3'->5'), ''see [[directionality (molecular biology)|directionality]]''.
== See also ==
* [[DNA replication]]
* [[Nucleotide]]
{{BranchesofChemistry}}
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[[Category:DNA replication]]
[[Category:Nucleic acids]]
[[Category:Nucleotides]]
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