Which of the following is a purine?

Ah, purines. The building blocks of our DNA and RNA. They’re like the Legos of life, except infinitely more complicated and likely to result in existential crises if you step on one barefoot in the middle of the night.

But wait, what even is a purine? And which one belongs to this exclusive club known as “the following”?

Well hang tight (preferably not by your toenails), because we’re about to take a deep dive into everything you never wanted to know about purines!

What are Purines?

Let’s start with the basics. Purines are nitrogenous bases that form part of nucleotides, which in turn make up DNA and RNA—the genetic blueprints for all living organisms. Without them, we wouldn’t exist—so thanks for existing, purines.

There are two types of nitrogenous bases: purines and pyrimidines. A good way to remember which is which is that purine has an “i” in it, just like hi-fi systems—they both make impressive noises at high frequencies. Pyrimidine…not so much.

Purine bases include adenine (A) and guanine (G), while pyrimidine bases include cytosine (C), thymine(T, only found in DNA) , or uracil(U).

Got it so far? Good…because things are about to get seriously complicated (just kidding…kinda).

The Structure(s)

You might be thinking “helloooooo I thought this was supposed to be funny!” while sipping on your tenth cuppa joe already but trust me – stick around.

Anyhoo! These simple molecules actually have pretty complex structures when zoomed-in-upon under some hefty magnification (/=D). Both adenine and guanine feature fused carbon-nitrogen rings, with various functional groups hanging off them like trendy accessories. Like some sort of intergalactic cocktail party.

These complex molecules make for slightly explosive neighbors, but they’re all good underneath the ~7 layers of outer space~ which is a cell membrane.

Purine vs Pyrimidine

Pyrimidines are bit less exciting than purines in terms of their structure; keep up that excitement guys! Here’s why: pyrimidine bases only have one carbon-nitrogen ring per molecule. It’s all they need to be on this ride. The scientific community just can’t handle that much hiposity from purines.

It makes sense then that there needs to be fewer pyrimidines in our DNA compared to purines—a single set of rings takes up less room!

Sooooo Which One?

But enough about those nerdy pi electrons and resonance structures—let’s get back to the question at hand: which of the following (also known as potential candidates for best supporting actress) is a purine?

You might expect us to give you multiple choices here…but nah, we’re not feeling it today / why am I using “we”, sounds weird already/. Drumroll please…

That’s right folks; guanine gets the crown (with no prize money attached). As mentioned earlier, purine bases consist of adenine and guanine—so if you learned absolutely nothing else from this article (/kidding/), remember those two names! Don’t forget cytosine and thymine too by God or your primary school science teacher will haunt your dreams forevermore.

Now that we’ve gotten down and dirty with understanding what exactly a purine is – let’s explore some fun facts?

Fun Facts About Guanine

  • First discovered in 1846 by chemist Georg Wöhler.
  • Its name comes from the word guano, which was used to make gunpowder in the 17th century (/I knew bats were suspicious/).
  • The fluorescent properties of guanine and its derivatives inspired the development of dyes and pigments.
  • Guanine can also be found in food sources like fish, meats, beans and lentils. Yet some folks prefer their daily dose through skin-care products.
    • Just don’t go rubbing beans on your face expecting miracles (it’s gross!)
  • In addition to forming part of DNA and RNA molecules, guanine is also one of four nucleotides that form transfer RNA.
  • You know what else has multiple forms? That’s right — cats >:^)

Conclusion

All jokes aside…purines really are important! They play an essential role in our bodies’ functions as well as genetic replication—so it’s worth taking a few minutes out from your day (or life) to give them a little thought.

And hopefully now you’re familiar with at least one member: guanine.

To wrap it up:

  • purine bases consist of adenine(A) and guanine(G), while pyrimidine bases include cytosine(C), thymine(T) or uracil(U)
    • Purines look hotter than pyrimidines
  • Guanosine owes its name to bird poo after being discovered by Wöhler(now we have something for small talk with chemists)
  • Also found hidden among delicious coffee drinks!
    Not actually recommended
  • And finally, the long-awaited answer: “Which Of The Following Is A Purine?” Glad we could put this heavy-hitting question at ease.

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