noun
- Plural of cytosine; a nitrogenous base that is one of the four main components of DNA and RNA, pairing with guanine.
Usage: technical; biology
Examples
- Cytosines are one of the pyrimidine bases found in nucleic acids.
- The DNA strand contains adenines, guanines, cytosines, and thymines.
- In RNA, cytosines pair with guanines through hydrogen bonds.
- Mutations can occur when cytosines are damaged by UV radiation.
- The sequence of cytosines and other bases determines the genetic code.