Deoxyadenosine triphosphate Definition and Examples

Table of Contents

Definition

noun
plural: deoxyadenosine triphosphates
(biochemistry) A nucleotide composed of adenine, deoxyribose and three phosphate units, with a chemical formula: C₁₀H₁₆N₅O₁₂P₃

Details

Overview

A nucleotide is an organic compound made up of three subunits: a nucleobase, a five-carbon sugar, and a phosphate group. The sugar component may either be ribose or deoxyribose. The ribose is the sugar component of the nucleotides that make up RNA. The deoxyribose is the sugar component of DNA. Nucleotides are the monomeric units of nucleic acids. Each phosphate group connects the sugar rings of two adjacent nucleotide monomers. The phosphate groups and the sugar moieties form the backbone of a nucleic acid. The directionality of the chain runs from 5′-end to 3′-end. In DNA, the orientation of the two strands is in opposite directions. This is to allow complementary base pairing between nucleobase constituents. A nucleotide is, thus, a nucleoside with a phosphate group. Depending on the number of phosphate groups attached to the sugar moiety. It may be called nucleoside monophosphate (if with only one phosphate group), nucleoside diphosphate (with two phosphate groups), or nucleoside triphosphate (when with three phosphate groups). Depending on the pentose sugar component, a nucleoside may be a ribonucleoside or a deoxyribonucleoside. A ribonucleoside is a nucleoside with a ribose sugar component. (Depending on the nucleobase component, the ribonucleoside may be adenosine, guanosine, cytidine, uridine, or 5-methyluridine). A deoxyribonucleoside is a nucleoside with a deoxyribose sugar. Depending on the nucleobase component, a deoxyribonucleoside may be deoxyadenosine, deoxyguanosine, deoxycytidine, thymidine, or deoxyuridine. Also, depending on the nucleobase component, the nucleosides may be grouped into either the “double-ringed” purine or the “single-ringed” pyrimidine.
Deoxyadenosine triphosphate is a purine nucleotide composed of adenine, deoxyribose and three phosphate units, with a chemical formula: C₁₀H₁₆N₅O₁₂P₃

Characteristics

Deoxyadenosine triphosphate (dATP) is a nucleoside phosphate in being comprised of a deoxyribonucleoside and three phosphate units. This means that it has deoxyribose as its sugar constituent with three phosphate units attached. Its nucleoside contains a purine base, i.e. an adenine attached to the deoxyribose sugar.

dATP vs ATP

Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is a nucleotide composed of adenine, ribose and three phosphate units. It has a chemical formula of C₁₀H₁₆N₅O₁₃P₃. It differs from dATP in terms of the sugar component. dATP, instead of having a hydroxyl group on the 2′ carbon on the on pentose sugar as it is in ATP, has it reduced to a hydrogen atom (thus, deoxy- in its name).

Biological functions

dATP is one of the monomeric nucleotides that make up DNA. The others are deoxycytidine triphosphate (dCTP), deoxyguanosine triphosphate (dGTP), and (deoxy)thymidine triphosphate (dTTP). In DNA, dATP complementary base pairs with dTTP. During transcription (mRNA synthesis), dATP complementary base pairs with uracil nucleotide.