Are Minor Bases and Nucleosides the Same Thing

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Minor bases and nucleosides are related but not the same. Minor bases refer to nucleobases that are not the primary ones found in DNA and RNA—adenine, guanine, cytosine, thymine, or uracil. While minor base nucleosides exist, the term "nucleoside" specifically describes the structure formed when a nucleobase is attached to a sugar, such as ribose or deoxyribose. Additionally, when a nucleoside is linked to a phosphate group, it becomes a nucleotide, which is essential for the formation of nucleic acids through polymerization.
samy4408
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Hello , is minor bases and Nucleoside the same thing ?
 
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samy4408 said:
Hello , is minor bases and Nucleoside the same thing ?
Wiki has a stack on this, plus you have a decent biochem textbook?
 
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In brief:

There are minor base nucleosides. So, in a fashion, they can be the same thing.

Otherwise: No.
 
"Minor base" simply refers to the fact that the nucleobase isn't adenine, guanine, cytosine, thymine, or uracil. Other purines and pyrimidines occur in the body, but to a much lower extent than the main ones you find in DNA and RNA.

A nucleoside is what you get when you bind a nucleobase to a sugar (ribose in the case of RNA and deoxyribose in the case of DNA). And a nucleotide is what happens when that nucleoside is bound to a phosphate group. The polymerization of this phosphate/sugar backbone gives you nucleic acids.
 
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