Adenine

Adenine is one of the nucleobases or basic molecules which form DNA and RNA. They are usually called bases in genetics.

Function
In DNA, adenine sticks to thymine with two hydrogen bonds to help in making the nucleic acid structures stronger. In RNA, which is used in the cytoplasm for protein synthesis, adenine sticks to uracil.

History
Adenine was sometimes called Vitamin B4, but no longer. However, two B vitamins, niacin and riboflavin, bind with adenine to form the essential cofactors NAD and FAD respectively.

Adenine when bonded to ribose forms adenosine, part of molecules such as adenosine triphosphate.

Some think that, at the origin of life on Earth, the first adenine was formed by the polymerization (joining) of five hydrogen cyanide (HCN) molecules. This is not generally accepted.

References

Other websites
 Computational Chemistry Wiki 

Category:Aminopurines
Category:DNA