DNTP stands for Deoxynucleoside Triphosphate.
Understanding Deoxynucleoside Triphosphates (dNTPs)
Deoxynucleoside triphosphates are essential building blocks for DNA synthesis. They are the substrates that DNA polymerases use to create new DNA strands.
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What they are: dNTPs are molecules composed of a deoxyribose sugar, a nitrogenous base (adenine, guanine, cytosine, or thymine), and three phosphate groups.
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Their Role: As the reference indicates, dNTPs are substrates for DNA polymerizing enzymes. This means that these enzymes (DNA polymerases) use dNTPs as building blocks to synthesize new DNA strands.
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Cellular Control: Cells carefully regulate the concentration of dNTPs because of their critical role in DNA replication. The enzyme ribonucleotide reductase (RNR) plays a key role in dNTP synthesis. The reference explains that RNR's activity and synthesis are regulated in cells as they prepare to divide.
Examples of dNTPs
- dATP: Deoxyadenosine triphosphate
- dGTP: Deoxyguanosine triphosphate
- dCTP: Deoxycytidine triphosphate
- dTTP: Deoxythymidine triphosphate
