Adenine Adenine Adenine is one of the most important organic molecules for life as we know it today. DNA, as you might know, is the genetic code used for cellular life on earth. It is through the precise inheritance of on organism's DNA from its parent that the traits of an organism are passed on. Here is the partial structure of DNA with an Adenine group attached. Adenine is a purine.
Purines are six-membered rings attached to five membered rings.
When Adenine is attached to DNA, it forms a bond with another molecule called Thymine, a pyrimidine, on the other side of the DNA strand. It is these bonds which give DNA its double-helix structure. The sequence of DNA, or the order in which nucleotides are placed, allows for the diversity among all living organisms. Adenosine triphosphate is the nitrogenous base adenine bonded to a five carbon sugar. This molecule is important because it has the ability to phosphorylize, or add a phosphate group to, other molecules.