adenine

Etymology

From German Adenin, from Ancient Greek ἀδήν (adḗn, “gland”); surface analysis, aden- + -ine. It was named in 1885 by the German biochemist Albrecht Kossel, in reference to the pancreas (a specific gland) from which Kossel's sample had been extracted.

noun

1. (biochemistry, genetics) A base, C₅H₅N₅, found in certain glands and tissues, which pairs with thymine in DNA and uracil in RNA.
   One of these labels is ethenoadenine, which is obtained by chemical modification of adenine. 2002, Nikolai L. Vekshin, Photonics of Biopolymers, page 115
   There are two genes in the adenine biosynthetic pathway of yeast (ADE1 and ADE2) that, apart from producing an absolute requirement for adenine when mutant, also produce a change in colony color. 2006, David Markie, “1: Markers, Selection, and Media in Yeast Artificial Chromosome Cloning”, in Alasdair MacKenzie, editor, YAC Protocols, 2nd edition, page 2
   The HCN pentamer, adenine (a constituent of DNA, RNA and many coenzymes), is one of the most abundant biochemical molecules. 2010, Debjani Roy, Rogué Schleyer, “6: Chemical Origin of Life: How do Five HCN Molecules Combine to form Adenine under Prebiotic and Interstellar Conditions”, in Chérif F. Matta, editor, Quantum Biochemistry, page 202