pyrimidine

views updated May 18 2018

pyrimidine A basic, 6-membered heterocyclic compound. The principal pyrimidines (uracil, thymine, and cytosine) are important constituents of nucleic acids. Thiamine (vitamin B1) is an important pyrimidine derivative, and other derivatives play major roles in carbohydrate and lipid metabolism.

pyrimidine

views updated May 17 2018

pyrimidine An organic nitrogenous base (see formula), sparingly soluble in water, that gives rise to a group of biologically important derivatives, notably uracil, thymine, and cytosine, which occur in nucleotides and nucleic acids (DNA and RNA).

pyrimidine

views updated May 18 2018

pyrimidine A basic, six-membered, heterocyclic compound; the principal pyrimidines (uracil, thymine, and cytosine) are important constituents of nucleic acids. Thiamine (vitamin B1) is an important pyrimidine derivative, and other derivatives play major roles in carbohydrate and lipid metabolism.

pyrimidine

views updated May 23 2018

pyrimidine A nitrogen base composed of a single, six-membered ring structure. The pyrimidine bases in the nucleotides of nucleic acids are cytosine and thymine in DNA and cytosine and uracil in RNA.

pyrimidine

views updated May 29 2018

pyrimidine (pi-rim-i-deen) n. a nitrogen-containing compound with a ring molecular structure. The commonest pyrimidines are cytosine, thymine, and uracil, which form the nucleotides of nucleic acids.