nucleic acid
nounUK /njuːˈkliː.ɪk ˈæsɪd/ · US /nuˈkleɪ.ɪk ˈæsɪd/
Etymology nucleic + acid; named for the fact that in eukaryotes, some of the important actions of such acids are especially associated with the nucleus of the cell.
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Biochemistry, Biology, Chemistry, Genetics, Medicine, Microbiology, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences Any acidic, chainlike biological macromolecule consisting of multiple repeat units of phosphoric acid, sugar and purine and pyrimidine bases; they are involved in the preservation, replication and expression of hereditary information in every living cell
- Synonyms
- nucleic acid
- Derived terms
- bridged nucleic acid, deoxyribonucleic acid, glycol nucleic acid, locked nucleic acid, nucleic acid analogue, peptide nucleic acid, ribonucleic acid, spherical nucleic acid, threonucleic acid, threose nucleic acid, unlocked nucleic acid, xeno nucleic acid
- Related terms
- DNA, RNA, nucleoside, nucleotide
- Hypernyms
- macromolecule
- Hyponyms
- DNA, RNA
- Meronyms
- nucleobase