NEETZoologyMolecular Basis of Inheritance
What are the three components of a nucleotide?
Options
- ANitrogenous base, pentose sugar, and a phosphate group
- BNitrogenous base, hexose sugar, and a phosphate group
- CNitrogenous base, hexose sugar, and a nitrogen group
- DNitrogenous base, pentose sugar, and a nitrogen group
Correct answer
A. Nitrogenous base, pentose sugar, and a phosphate group
Step-by-step solution
A nucleotide has three components – a nitrogenous base, a pentose sugar (ribose in case of RNA, and deoxyribose for DNA), and a phosphate group. There are two types of nitrogenous bases – Purines (Adenine and Guanine), and Pyrimidines (Cytosine, Uracil and Thymine). Cytosine is common for both DNA and RNA and Thymine is present in DNA. Uracil is present in RNA at the place of Thymine. A nitrogenous base is linked to the OH of 1' C pentose sugar through a N-glycosidic linkage to form a nucleoside, such as adenosine