Phosphorylated Nucleotides

• All organisms require a constant supply of energy to maintain their cells and stay alive
• Energy is required for

  • Anabolic reactions (building larger molecules from smaller molecules)
  • Moving substances across the cell membrane or moving substances within the cell
• In animals, energy is also required for

  • Muscle contraction – to coordinate movement at the whole-organism level
  • The conduction of nerve impulses
• In all known forms of life, ATP from respiration is used to transfer energy in all energy-requiring processes in cells
• ATP


  The universal energy currency
• Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP)


  A nucleotide
• The monomers of DNA and RNA are also nucleotides
• ATP


  The energy-carrying molecule that provides the energy to drive many processes inside living cells
• ATP is another type of nucleic acid and hence it is structurally very similar to the nucleotides that make up DNA and RNA
• ATP


  A phosphorylated nucleotide
• Adenosine


  A nucleoside
• Adenosine can be combined with

  • One phosphate group = adenosine monophosphate (AMP)
  • Two phosphate groups = adenosine diphosphate (ADP)
  • Three phosphate groups = adenosine triphosphate (ATP)