Uracil is a pyrimidine nucleobase with a chemical formula of C4H4N2O2. Uracil has a molar mass of 112.08676 g/mol and a melting point of 335 °C.
Uracil's use in the body is to help carry out the synthesis of many enzymes necessary for cell function through bonding with riboses and phosphates. Uracil serves as allosteric regulator and coenzyme for reactions in animals and in plants.
The RNA molecule consists of a sequence of nucleotides, each containing a five-carbon sugar (ribose), a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base. Uracil is one of four nitrogenous bases found in the RNA molecule: uracil and cytosine (derived from pyrimidine) and adenine and guanine (derived from purine).
Uracil is found in RNA and binds to adenine via 2 hydrogen bonds, but is replaced by thymine in DNA. Methylation of Uracil produces thymine. ... In the uracil and adenine bond, uracil is the hydrogen bond acceptor and the adenine is the donor. When attached to a ribose sugar, the compound is called uridine, a nucleoside.
