RNA
Dictionary entry overview: What does RNA mean?
• RNA (noun)
The noun RNA has 1 sense:
1. (biochemistry) a long linear polymer of nucleotides found in the nucleus but mainly in the cytoplasm of a cell where it is associated with microsomes; it transmits genetic information from DNA to the cytoplasm and controls certain chemical processes in the cell
Familiarity information: RNA used as a noun is very rare.
Dictionary entry details
• RNA (noun)
Meaning:
(biochemistry) a long linear polymer of nucleotides found in the nucleus but mainly in the cytoplasm of a cell where it is associated with microsomes; it transmits genetic information from DNA to the cytoplasm and controls certain chemical processes in the cell
Classified under:
Nouns denoting substances
Synonyms:
ribonucleic acid; RNA
Context example:
ribonucleic acid is the genetic material of some viruses
Hypernyms ("RNA" is a kind of...):
polymer (a naturally occurring or synthetic compound consisting of large molecules made up of a linked series of repeated simple monomers)
Meronyms (parts of "RNA"):
nucleic acid ((biochemistry) any of various macromolecules composed of nucleotide chains that are vital constituents of all living cells)
Meronyms (substance of "RNA"):
ribose (a pentose sugar important as a component of ribonucleic acid)
A; adenine ((biochemistry) purine base found in DNA and RNA; pairs with thymine in DNA and with uracil in RNA)
C; cytosine (a base found in DNA and RNA and derived from pyrimidine; pairs with guanine)
G; guanine (a purine base found in DNA and RNA; pairs with cytosine)
U; uracil (a base containing nitrogen that is found in RNA (but not in DNA) and derived from pyrimidine; pairs with adenine)
Domain category:
biochemistry (the organic chemistry of compounds and processes occuring in organisms; the effort to understand biology within the context of chemistry)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "RNA"):
informational RNA; messenger RNA; mRNA; template RNA (the template for protein synthesis; the form of RNA that carries information from DNA in the nucleus to the ribosome sites of protein synthesis in the cell)
nRNA; nuclear RNA (ribonucleic acid found in the nucleolus of the cell)
acceptor RNA; soluble RNA; transfer RNA; tRNA (RNA molecules present in the cell (in at least 20 varieties, each variety capable of combining with a specific amino acid) that attach the correct amino acid to the protein chain that is being synthesized at the ribosome of the cell (according to directions coded in the mRNA))
