noun
- a molecule consisting of a nitrogenous base, a five-carbon sugar (ribose or deoxyribose), and a phosphate group; the basic structural unit of nucleic acids (DNA and RNA).
Usage: technical; biochemistry
Examples
- DNA is a polymer made up of millions of mononucleotides linked together in a chain.
- Each mononucleotide contains one of four nitrogenous bases: adenine, guanine, cytosine, or thymine.
- The mononucleotides in RNA use ribose sugar instead of deoxyribose.
- Scientists can synthesize mononucleotides in the laboratory for genetic research.
- The sequence of mononucleotides in a gene determines the amino acid sequence of a protein.