A polymeric constituent of all living cells and many
viruses, consisting of a long, usually single-stranded chain of alternating phosphate
and ribose units with the bases
adenine, guanine, cytosine,
and uracil bonded to the ribose.
The structure and base sequence of RNA are determinants of protein
synthesis and the transmission of genetic information. Also called ribonucleic
acid.
Excerpted from The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Third
Edition Copyright © 1992 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Electronic version
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