Difference between Nucleotide and Nucleoside: The nucleotide and nucleoside are fundamental to genetic processes. These types of molecules are essential DNA and RNA components. It governs genetic information and cellular functions. They have structural and functional differences.
A nucleotide is a genetic block composed of a phosphate, sugar, and a base. It is essential for building DNA and RNA. Nucleoside is a genetic building block without phosphate. It consists of a sugar and a base and plays a role in cellular processes. Read this article for complete details on the difference between nucleotide and nucleoside.Nucleotides are the basic components of nucleic acids. This compound comprises a phosphate group, a sugar molecule, and a nitrogenous base. On the other hand, nucleosides lack the phosphate group and are made entirely of sugar and nitrogenous bases. Nucleotides are essential in genetic information storage and transmission.
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Difference Between Nucleotide and Nucleoside | ||
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Basis | Nucleotide | Nucleoside |
Phosphate Group | It contains a phosphate group, an essential part of its structure. | It does not contain a phosphate group. |
Pentose Sugar | It consists of pentose sugar, either ribose (in RNA) or deoxyribose (in DNA). | It also consists of a pentose sugar, either ribose (in RNA) or deoxyribose (in DNA). |
Nitrogenous Base | It contains a nitrogenous base. It can be adenine, thymine, cytosine, guanine (in DNA), uracil, cytosine, or guanine (in RNA). | It also contains a nitrogenous base, the same as in nucleotides. |
Role | It is the basic building block for forming nucleic acids, DNA, and RNA. | It is involved in the synthesis of nucleotides. When a phosphate group is added to a nucleoside, it forms a nucleotide. |
Examples | Examples include ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate), GTP, dATP, etc. | Examples include Adenosine, Guanosine, Thymidine, etc. |