DNA

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does DNA mean? 

• DNA (noun)
  The noun DNA has 1 sense:

1. (biochemistry) a long linear polymer found in the nucleus of a cell and formed from nucleotides and shaped like a double helix; associated with the transmission of genetic information

  Familiarity information: DNA used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DNA (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

(biochemistry) a long linear polymer found in the nucleus of a cell and formed from nucleotides and shaped like a double helix; associated with the transmission of genetic information

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Synonyms:

deoxyribonucleic acid; desoxyribonucleic acid; DNA

Context example:

DNA is the king of molecules

Hypernyms ("DNA" is a kind of...):

polymer (a naturally occurring or synthetic compound consisting of large molecules made up of a linked series of repeated simple monomers)

Meronyms (parts of "DNA"):

base pair (one of the pairs of chemical bases joined by hydrogen bonds that connect the complementary strands of a DNA molecule or of an RNA molecule that has two strands; the base pairs are adenine with thymine and guanine with cytosine in DNA and adenine with uracil and guanine with cytosine in RNA)

nucleic acid ((biochemistry) any of various macromolecules composed of nucleotide chains that are vital constituents of all living cells)

cistron; factor; gene ((genetics) a segment of DNA that is involved in producing a polypeptide chain; it can include regions preceding and following the coding DNA as well as introns between the exons; it is considered a unit of heredity)

Meronyms (substance of "DNA"):

C; cytosine (a base found in DNA and RNA and derived from pyrimidine; pairs with guanine)

A; adenine ((biochemistry) purine base found in DNA and RNA; pairs with thymine in DNA and with uracil in RNA)

G; guanine (a purine base found in DNA and RNA; pairs with cytosine)

T; thymine (a base found in DNA (but not in RNA) and derived from pyrimidine; pairs with adenine)

Domain category:

biochemistry (the organic chemistry of compounds and processes occurring in organisms; the effort to understand biology within the context of chemistry)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "DNA"):

operon (a segment of DNA containing adjacent genes including structural genes and an operator gene and a regulatory gene)

cDNA; complementary DNA (single-stranded DNA that is complementary to messenger RNA or DNA that has been synthesized from messenger RNA by reverse transcriptase)

episome (DNA that is not incorporated into the genome but is replicated together with the genome (especially in bacterial cells))

coding DNA; exon (sequence of a gene's DNA that transcribes into protein structures)

intron; noncoding DNA (sequence of a eukaryotic gene's DNA that is not translated into a protein)

junk DNA (stretches of DNA that do not code for genes)

recombinant deoxyribonucleic acid; recombinant DNA (genetically engineered DNA made by recombining fragments of DNA from different organisms)

sticky end (an end of DNA in which one strand of the double helix extends a few units beyond the other)

jumping gene; transposon (a segment of DNA that can become integrated at many different sites along a chromosome (especially a segment of bacterial DNA that can be translocated as a whole))

 Context examples 

Aclarubicin intercalates into DNA and interacts with topoisomerases I and II, thereby inhibiting DNA replication and repair and RNA and protein synthesis.

(Aclarubicin, NCI Thesaurus)

Aclacinomycin B intercalates into DNA and inhibits both the topoisomerase I and II enzymes, thereby inhibiting DNA replication and ultimately, interfering with RNA and protein synthesis.

(Aclacinomycin B, NCI Thesaurus)

Acridine orange interacts with RNA and DNA and the lysosomal compartment of cells.

(Acridine Orange Staining Method, NCI Thesaurus)

Acronycine appears to alkylate DNA and interfere with DNA replication.

(Acronine, NCI Thesaurus)

A white blood cell that, after being in contact with an antigen, rearranges its DNA to defend against that one specific type of antigen.

(Activated Lymphocyte, NCI Thesaurus)

It damages the cell’s DNA and may kill cancer cells.

(actinomycin D, NCI Dictionary)

It blocks an enzyme involved in many functions of the cell, including the repair of DNA damage.

(ABT-888, NCI Dictionary)

RAD51, a homologue of bacterial RecA, assists in the repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs).

(Abexinostat, NCI Thesaurus)

Most RNA and RNA-DNA duplex are in this form.

(A-DNA, NCI Thesaurus)

Human A/G-specific adenine DNA glycosylase protein (546 aa, approximately 60 kD) is encoded by the MUTYH gene.

(A/G-Specific Adenine DNA Glycosylase, NCI Thesaurus)