Difference Between Nucleotide and Nucleoside

Understanding the difference between nucleotide and nucleoside is a necessity in the field of science. Simply speaking, a nucleotide consists of sugar, a nitrogenous base, and phosphate groups that number one to three. In contrast, a nucleoside involves a nitrogenous base that has a covalent attachment to sugar but with no phosphate group.

Definition of Nucleotide

A nucleotide refers to the basic building block of a specific acid that is the nucleic acid. This certainly shows the difference between nucleotide and nucleic acid. Moreover, a nucleotide involves a sugar molecule whose attachment is to a phosphate group as well as a nitrogen-containing base.

Definition of Nucleoside

Nucleoside refers to a component of nucleotide and this is the difference between nucleotide and nucleoside. Furthermore, nucleotide happens to be the monomeric unit of nucleic acid, which is the DNA and RNA. Moreover, a nucleobase is a nitrogen-containing compound that may cause the formation of nucleosides when their attachment takes place to deoxyribose or a five-carbon sugar ribose.

Difference between Nucleotide and Nucleoside

Parameter	Nucleotide	Nucleoside
Structure	It consists of a nitrogenous base, one to three phosphate groups, and sugar-like deoxyribose and ribose	It consists of a nitrogenous base that has an attachment to sugar in a covalent manner without the phosphate group
Medical Relevance	Nucleotides that are dysfunctional lead to the onset of cancer due to the accumulation of damaged DNA	Use of several nucleoside analogues takes place in medicine as anticancer agents or antiviral
Composition	It consists of nucleoside in addition to one or more phosphate groups	It consists of a nitrogenous base in addition to Pentose sugar
Role in Nucleic Acids	It makes covalent bonds with other nucleotides to result in the formation of nucleic acid strand	It undergoes phosphorylation to result in the formation of nucleotides
Examples	Uridine monophosphate, guanosine monophosphate, cytidine monophosphate, adenosine monophosphate, thymidine monophosphate	Uridine, guanosine, cytidine, adenosine, thymidine

More Details about Nucleotide

A nucleotide refers to an organic molecule that happens to be the building block of RNA and DNA. Furthermore, nucleotides have functions that have a relation to enzyme reactions, cell signaling, and metabolism. Also, the nucleotide is of three parts: a phosphate group, a nitrogenous base, and a 5-carbon sugar.

The four nitrogenous bases in DNA are guanine, cytosine, adenine, and thymine. Furthermore, a nucleotide within a particular chain forms the genetic material of every organism. They also serve many functions as energy moving particles and messengers outside the genetic information storage.

There is a difference between DNA and RNA as DNA has sugar deoxyribose while RNA has sugar ribose. Furthermore, codon refers to a series of three nucleotides within the DNA. Moreover, codon directs the cell proteins to attach a particular protein to a DNA specified series.

More Details about Nucleoside

A nucleoside refers to a purine or a pyrimidine nucleobase that is bound to a deoxyribose or pentose sugar ribose. Furthermore, in a nucleoside, there is an attachment of anomeric carbon to a purine’s N9 by a glycosidic bond. Furthermore, this attachment can also be to the N1 of a pyrimidine rather than the N9 of purine.

There is a difference between purine and pyrimidine. Purine has a six-membered nitrogen-containing ring in fusion to an imidazole ring. In contrast, pyrimidine has only the nitrogen-containing ring that is six-numbered.

On the basis of the pentose sugar component, it is possible for a nucleoside to be either a ribonucleoside or a deoxyribonucleoside. A ribonucleoside is simply a nucleoside with the component of the ribose sugar. In contrast, deoxyribonucleoside happens to be a nucleoside with a deoxyribose sugar.

FAQs about Nucleotide and Nucleoside

Question 1: State one difference between nucleotide and nucleoside?

Answer 1: One difference between nucleotide and nucleoside can be on the basis of chemical composition. A nucleotide consists of nucleoside in addition to phosphate groups that number one or more. In contrast, nucleoside consists of a nitrogenous base with the notable addition of Pentose sugar.

Question 2: Explain the difference between purine and pyrimidine?

Answer 2: Besides the difference between nucleotide and nucleoside, there is also a difference between purine and pyrimidine. Purine has a six-membered nitrogen-containing ring which is in fusion to an imidazole ring. In contrast, pyrimidine has only the nitrogen-containing ring that is six-numbered without any fusion.