Nucleotides are the fundamental building blocks of DNA and RNA. Each nucleotide consists of:
- A nitrogenous base (purines: adenine, guanine; pyrimidines: thymine, cytosine, uracil)
- A pentose sugar (deoxyribose in DNA, ribose in RNA)
- A phosphate group, which forms the backbone of the nucleic acid structure.
These components enable genetic information storage and transmission.