2deoxyguanosine

2-deoxyguanosine, often abbreviated as dG or 2'-dG, is a deoxyribonucleoside. It is a component of DNA, specifically a derivative of the nucleoside guanosine. In a deoxyribonucleoside, the sugar moiety is deoxyribose, a five-carbon sugar that lacks an oxygen atom at the 2' carbon position, compared to the ribose found in ribonucleosides. Guanosine is composed of the nucleobase guanine attached to a ribose sugar. Therefore, 2-deoxyguanosine consists of guanine linked to a deoxyribose sugar.

Within DNA, 2-deoxyguanosine is one of the four essential deoxyribonucleotides that form the building blocks of the genetic material. It pairs specifically with 2-deoxycytidine through three hydrogen bonds during the formation of the DNA double helix. The sequence of these deoxyribonucleosides along the DNA strand encodes genetic information. The presence of the deoxyribose sugar, as opposed to ribose, is a defining characteristic of DNA, making it more stable and suitable for long-term storage of genetic information.

2-deoxyguanosine plays a crucial role in DNA replication and repair mechanisms. Understanding its structure and function is fundamental to molecular biology and genetics, as it is involved in processes ranging from gene expression to the study of genetic diseases and the development of therapeutic strategies. Its chemical structure features a purine base, guanine, attached to the C1' carbon of the 2'-deoxyribose sugar, with the guanine's nitrogen atoms participating in hydrogen bonding within the DNA helix.