Deoxycytidine triphosphate (dCTP) is a
nucleoside triphosphate
A nucleoside triphosphate is a nucleoside containing a nitrogenous base bound to a 5-carbon sugar (either ribose or deoxyribose), with three phosphate groups bound to the sugar. They are the molecular precursors of both DNA and RNA, which are ch ...
that contains the
pyrimidine base
cytosine
Cytosine () ( symbol C or Cyt) is one of the four nucleobases found in DNA and RNA, along with adenine, guanine, and thymine (uracil in RNA). It is a pyrimidine derivative, with a heterocyclic aromatic ring and two substituents attached (an ...
. The triphosphate group contains high-energy phosphoanhydride bonds, which liberate energy when
hydrolized.
DNA polymerase
A DNA polymerase is a member of a family of enzymes that catalyze the synthesis of DNA molecules from nucleoside triphosphates, the molecular precursors of DNA. These enzymes are essential for DNA replication and usually work in groups to create ...
enzymes use this energy to incorporate
deoxycytidine
Deoxycytidine is a deoxyribonucleoside, a component of deoxyribonucleic acid. It is similar to the ribonucleoside cytidine, but with one hydroxyl group removed from the C2' position.
Deoxycytidine can be phosphorylated at C5' of the deoxyribos ...
into a newly synthesized strand of
DNA. A
chemical equation
A chemical equation is the symbolic representation of a chemical reaction in the form of symbols and chemical formulas. The reactant entities are given on the left-hand side and the product entities on the right-hand side with a plus sign between ...
can be written that represents the process:
: (DNA)
n + dCTP ↔ (DNA)
n-C + PP
i
That is, dCTP has the PP
i (
pyrophosphate
In chemistry, pyrophosphates are phosphorus oxyanions that contain two phosphorus atoms in a P–O–P linkage. A number of pyrophosphate salts exist, such as disodium pyrophosphate (Na2H2P2O7) and tetrasodium pyrophosphate (Na4P2O7), among othe ...
) cleaved off and the
dCMP is incorporated into the DNA strand at the 3' end.
Subsequent hydrolysis of the PP
i drives the equilibrium of the reaction toward the right side, i.e. incorporation of the nucleotide in the growing DNA chain.
Like other nucleoside triphosphates, manufacturers recommend that dCTP be stored in aqueous solution at −20 °C.
See also
*
DNA replication
In molecular biology, DNA replication is the biological process of producing two identical replicas of DNA from one original DNA molecule. DNA replication occurs in all living organisms acting as the most essential part for biological inheritanc ...
References
External links
Definitive Guide to dNTPs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deoxycytidine Triphosphate
Molecular biology
Nucleotides
Phosphate esters
Pyrimidones