N-nucleotides, or nontemplated nucleotides are believed to exist only to create diversity at V(D)J junctions (see

V(D)J recombination V(D)J recombination is the mechanism of somatic recombination that occurs only in developing lymphocytes during the early stages of T and B cell maturation. It results in the highly diverse repertoire of antibodies/immunoglobulins and T cell rece ...

) during lymphocyte development. The addition of these nucleotides is aided by an enzyme called

Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT), also known as DNA nucleotidylexotransferase (DNTT) or terminal transferase, is a specialized DNA polymerase expressed in immature, pre-B, pre-T lymphoid cells, and acute lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoma ...

(TdT)

References

{{reflist Nucleotides