Purines and pyrimidines

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Chapter 12 Purines and pyrimidines

Chapter contents

Nucleosides and nucleotides 89
Metabolism of purines and pyrimidines 91
DNA and RNA 92

Purines and pyrimidines are known as nitrogenous bases. The two groups have different features (Figure 12.1):

• Purines: a six-membered and a five-membered nitrogen-containing ring fused together.
• Pyrimidines: a six-membered nitrogen-containing ring.
image

Figure 12.1 The structure of purines and pyrimidines.

These nitrogenous bases are crucial not only to the storage and transmission of genetic information, but also as a means of storing mobile energy. They can be synthesized in the body from basic components. The degraded bases can be salvaged and reused (see Chapter 37 ‘Metabolic disorders’, p. 295).

Nucleosides and Nucleotides

When a sugar is added to a nitrogenous base, a nucleoside is formed (Figure 12.2).

image

Figure 12.2

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