deoxyribonucleic acid

English
Structural diagram of a DNA molecule.

Pronunciation
  • Audio (CA)(file)

Noun

deoxyribonucleic acid (uncountable)

  1. (biochemistry, genetics) A nucleic acid found in all living things (and some non-living things such as certain viruses) which consists of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix; encoded in its structure are genetic instructions for development, functioning, growth, and reproduction.
    Synonyms: deoxyribose nucleic acid, desoxyribose nucleic acid, double helix, (abbreviation) DNA
    Meronym: nucleotide

Alternative forms

Translations

See also

Further reading
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.