NHGRI logo
Adenine_hero

​Adenine

updated: March 18, 2024

Definition

Adenine (A) is one of the four nucleotide bases in DNA, with the other three being cytosine (C), guanine (G) and thymine (T). Within a double-stranded DNA molecule, adenine bases on one strand pair with thymine bases on the opposite strand. The sequence of the four nucleotide bases encodes DNA’s information.

 Adenine


Narration

Adenine. Adenine, pairing with T in DNA, is usually represented as bonding with two hydrogen bonds, holding the DNA together.

Lawrence Brody
Lawrence Brody, Ph.D.

Director

Division of Genomics and Society