base pair

2 definitions found

base pair - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  base pair \base" pair`\ (b[=a]s" p[^a]r`), n. (Biochemistry,
     Genetics)
     a unit of double-stranded DNA or RNA consisting of two
     complementary bases on opposing strands of the
     double-stranded polynucleotide, bound together by hydrogen
     bonds and other non-covalent chemical forces. The bases
     comprising the base pairs are adenine, thymine, cytidine, and
     guanine. In normal DNA, the base adenine on one strand of DNA
     pairs with thymine on the opposite strand, and cytosine on
     one strand pairs with guanine on the opposite strand. The
     term base pair usually includes the sugar (ribose or
     deoxyribose) and the phosphate bound to each base to form a
     nucleotide unit. One base pair is sometimes used as a unit of
     length or size for DNA, and in this usage is abbreviated bp;
     as, a 100-bp fragment of DNA. A length of 1000 base pairs is
     a kilobase pair or kbp.
     [PJC]

base pair - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  base pair
      n 1: one of the pairs of chemical bases joined by hydrogen bonds
           that connect the complementary strands of a DNA molecule or
           of an RNA molecule that has two strands; the base pairs are
           adenine with thymine and guanine with cytosine in DNA and
           adenine with uracil and guanine with cytosine in RNA