The Adenine and Uracil bond is one of the most significant bonds present in RNA. Here we are going to discuss every possible aspect regarding the adenine and Uracil bond.
Adenine (A) a purine base and Uracil (U) a pyrimidine base, both make complementary base pairs in a RNA structure by forming hydrogenous double bonds between them, this bonding is known as Adenine and Uracil bond.
The adenine and Uracil bond is only present in RNA structure. The DNA does not contain uracil as a pyrimidine base, instead, DNA has its methylated version Thymine, that’s why Adenine and Uracil bond is absent in DNA. During bond formation Uracil (U) can act as both hydrogenous bond acceptor or donor in RNA.
What is adenine and uracil bonding?
Adenine and Uracil bonding is a hydrogenous bonding between the two nucleobases.
Adenine and Uracil both are complementary to each other and make hydrogenous double bonds between them and stabilize a RNA structure. This hydrogenous double bond between them is known as adenine and Uracil bond.
The RNA is typically a single stranded nucleic acid structure made up of nucleotides. Each nucleotide is composed of a five-carbon sugar, a phosphate unit and a nucleobase. There are four nucleotides present in RNA, such as Adenine (A), Guanine (G), Cytosine (C) and Uracil (U). Whenever self complementary bases in single stranded RNA come in close interactions, they form hydrogenous bonds between them. That is how an Adenine and Uracil bond forms in RNA structure.
Adenine Structure from Wikimedia Commons
How many hydrogen bonds form adenine and cytosine?
Adenine (A) and cytosine (C) are nitrogenous bases found in both DNA and RNA structure.
Adenine (A) forms hydrogenous double bonds with Uracil (U) and Cytosine (C) forms hydrogenous triple bonds with Guanine (G) in RNA.
Adenine (A) is a purine base complementary with pyrimidine base Thymine (T) and Uracil (U). In RNA Thymine is replaced by Uracil and that’s why Adenine (A) forms hydrogenous double bonds with Uracil (U) only.
Cytosine (C) is a pyrimidine base and complementary with purine base Guanine (G). In both of the nucleic acids Cytosine (C) forms hydrogenous triple bonds with Guanine (G) only.
Uracil structure from Wikimedia Commons
Does Uracil (U) bind with Adenine (A)?
In RNA single stranded structures when self complementary bases come in close contact, they pair with each other forming hydrogen bonds.
According to the base pairing rules, Uracil is a pyrimidine base and only binds with purine base Adenine (A) in RNA structure. But in some cases it is found that Uracil bonds not only with Adenine but also binds with Cytosine or others. Apart from normal base pairing, This kind of irregular binding is called Wobble base pairing.
Wobble basepair from Wikimedia Commons
Why does Adenine and Uracil bond only present in RNA structure?
Adenine and Uracil bond is only present in RNA structure and absent in DNA structure.
Uracil (U) is the nucleobase found in RNA only. In DNA Uracil (U) is replaced by its methylated version Thymine (T). That is why during base pairing Adenine in DNA makes complementary base pairs with Thymine (T) instead of Uracil (U). Whereas In RNA Adenine makes a complementary base pair with Uracil. Hence Adenine and Uracil bond is only present in RNA structure.
What are the common nucleotides formed by Adenine and Uracil in RNA?
The nucleobases in a nucleic acid structure are typically a part of monomeric nucleotide units.
Adenine (A) and Uracil (U) both are individually attached with a pentose sugar and phosphate groups, forming their nucleotide structures. Adenine possesses three different nucleotide structures, such as Adenosine monophosphate (AMP), Adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and Adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Uracil also possesses three different nucleotide structures such as Uridine monophosphate (UMP), Uridine diphosphate (UDP) and Uridine triphosphate (UTP).
To know more about nucleotides read our article on Nucleotide Examples:Detailed Insights
Is Adenine and Uracil bond less stable than Guanine- Cytosine bond?
Adenine – Uracil bond and Guanine- Cytosine bond both bring stability in a nucleic acid structure by their hydrogenous bonds.
According to the base pairing rules the Adenine and Uracil forms hydrogenous double bonds between them. Guanine and Cytosine form hydrogenous triple bonds between them. As the Guanine and Cytosine contain more hydrogen bonds between them, it is more stable and the Adenine and Uracil bond is less stable.
For this reason a G-C rich nucleic acid structure is more stable. The more G-C rich sequences increase the melting point of the nucleic acid and hold the duplex structure more effectively.
To know more about nucleotides read our article on Nucleotides In DNA Structure: Comparative Analysis Across It
Why is the Adenine and Uracil bond important to RNA structure?
The Adenine and Uracil bond in RNA structure perform several significant roles and enhance efficiency of RNA molecules.
The Adenine and Uracil bond in single stranded RNA provides a double stranded helical structure to the nucleic acid. It folds some areas of RNA. The interaction between the two bases influences the efficiency of genetic codon and stimulates translation process via protein synthesis. The Adenine and Uracil bond also brings stability to the RNA structure.
In RNA molecules intramolecular hydrogenous bond formation allows it to fold and achieve large three dimensional structure in it. The base pairing influences both the mRNAs and tRNAs functions, stimulates the amino acid recognition and protein synthesis processes largely.
To know more read our article on Adenine vs Thymine: Comparative Analysis
As a whole we can say that adenine and Uracil bond is very important in RNA structure. It is only present in RNA and enhances its efficiency. Both adenine and Uracil form different nucleotide structures and facilitate several functions within the cell. Hope the given information within this article will be helpful to you.
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Hello, I am Piyali Das, pursuing my Post Graduation in Zoology from Calcutta University. I am very passionate on Academic Article writing. My aim is to explain complex things in simple way through my writings for the readers.
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