Definition
In chemistry, a phosphodiester bond occurs when exactly two of the hydroxyl groups in phosphoric acid react with hydroxyl groups on other molecules to form two ester bonds. The "bond" involves this linkage C−O−PO−2O−C. Discussion of phosphodiesters is dominated by their prevalence in DNA and RNA, but phosphodiesters occur in other biomolecules, e.g. acyl carrier proteins, phospholipids and the cyclic forms of GMP and AMP.
Related concepts
Acyl carrier proteinAdenosine triphosphateAlkaline hydrolysisChemistryCyclic adenosine monophosphateCyclic guanosine monophosphateDNADNA ligaseDNA polymeraseDNA polymerase IDNA replicationDNase IDeoxyriboseDirectionality (molecular biology)EnzymeEsterHistonesHydrolysisHydroxyl groupIonMagnesiumMagnesium in biologyNick (DNA)NucleosideNucleotidePDE5PHPhosphodiesterasePhosphodiesterase inhibitorPhospholipidPhosphoric acidPolyaminePolymer backboneRNARibonucleotideRiboseTeichoic acidTranscription (biology)Translation (biology)
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