noun
- Molecules composed of multiple nucleotides linked together in a chain; the basic structural units of DNA and RNA.
Usage: technical; biology; plural form of polynucleotide
Examples
- DNA and RNA are both polynucleotides that carry genetic information.
- Polynucleotides are formed when nucleotides bond together through phosphodiester linkages.
- The structure of polynucleotides was crucial to understanding how heredity works.
- Scientists study polynucleotides to learn how cells store and transmit genetic instructions.
- Different polynucleotides have different sequences of bases that determine their function.