Meaning & use
nucleotide sequence
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Meanings
nouncountabletechnicalbiology
The order in which nucleotides are arranged along a strand of DNA or RNA.
Grammar: Countable: you can talk about one sequence or several sequences, and use 'a' or 'the' before it.
Patterns
- the nucleotide sequence of something
- determine a nucleotide sequence
- compare nucleotide sequences
Scientists determined the nucleotide sequence of the virus to understand how it infects cells.
A single change in the nucleotide sequence can alter the protein that is produced.
The database stores nucleotide sequences from thousands of different species.
nouncountabletechnicalbiology
A written or digital record that shows the order of nucleotides in a piece of DNA or RNA.
Grammar: Countable: often used with 'a' or 'the' when referring to a specific record.
Patterns
- read a nucleotide sequence
- submit a nucleotide sequence to a database
- align nucleotide sequences
The lab uploaded the nucleotide sequence to a public database for other researchers to use.
She compared the nucleotide sequence from the patient's sample with a reference sequence.
The software can align thousands of nucleotide sequences in a few minutes.
Word forms
| plural | nucleotide sequences |
|---|
Common combinations
- determine the nucleotide sequence
- The team used a sequencing machine to determine the nucleotide sequence of the gene.
- nucleotide sequence analysis
- Nucleotide sequence analysis revealed a mutation linked to the disease.
- a change in the nucleotide sequence
- A change in the nucleotide sequence can affect how the gene works.
- compare nucleotide sequences
- Researchers compared nucleotide sequences from different strains to track the outbreak.
- the nucleotide sequence of a gene
- The nucleotide sequence of a gene determines the order of amino acids in a protein.
Synonyms and how they differ
- genetic sequence
- A broader term that can refer to the order of nucleotides in DNA or RNA, but also to other genetic information; 'nucleotide sequence' is more specific.
- DNA sequence
- Specifically refers to the order of nucleotides in DNA, while 'nucleotide sequence' can also apply to RNA.
- base sequence
- Focuses on the order of the bases (A, T, C, G) rather than the nucleotides as a whole; often used interchangeably in informal contexts.
Word family
- nucleotide noun
- The building block of DNA and RNA, consisting of a base, a sugar, and a phosphate group.
- sequence noun
- A particular order in which related things follow each other.
- sequencing noun
- The process of determining the order of nucleotides in DNA or RNA.
Commonly confused: nucleotide sequence or amino acid sequence?
nucleotide sequence vs amino acid sequence
This refers to the order of amino acids in a protein, not the order of nucleotides in DNA or RNA. They are related but different levels of biological information.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'nucleotide sequence' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Option 1 is correct because a nucleotide sequence is the order of nucleotides in DNA or RNA, and a sequencing machine determines it. Option 0 is wrong because proteins have amino acid sequences, not nucleotide sequences. Option 2 is wrong because a cell does not have a single nucleotide sequence; you sequence DNA or RNA. Option 3 is wrong because an enzyme is a protein, not a nucleotide sequence.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “nucleotide sequence”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.