nucleotidyl

Nucleotidyl is a biochemical term referring to the nucleotidyl group, the chemical moiety derived from a nucleotide that is transferred or attached to another molecule during a reaction. In common usage, a nucleotidyl group consists of a nucleoside linked to one phosphate (a nucleotide monophosphate) and, in transfer reactions, represents the portion of a nucleotide that is transferred from a donor to an acceptor.

In enzymology, nucleotidyl transferases catalyze the transfer of a nucleotidyl group to an acceptor molecule. The donor is typically a nucleoside triphosphate (such as ATP, GTP, CTP, or UTP); after transfer, the leaving group is pyrophosphate. The resulting product contains a nucleotidyl moiety attached to the acceptor and is often described using prefixes that reflect the nucleoside involved, such as adenylyl-, uridylyl-, cytidylyl-, or guanylyl-, depending on the transferred group.

Nucleotidylation is the process of attaching a nucleotidyl group to a molecule. This modification can regulate enzyme activity, alter protein function, or participate in various aspects of nucleic acid metabolism. In nucleic acid biology, nucleotidyl transfer reactions are central to processes such as RNA tailing, DNA ligation, and certain RNA processing steps, although the term nucleotidyl more often appears in the descriptions of enzymes and reaction intermediates rather than as a standalone compound.

Origin and usage: nucleotidyl derives from nucleotide with the -yl suffix, and it is used as a descriptive descriptor in chemistry and biochemistry. It is frequently encountered in enzyme names and discussions of nucleotide-derived moieties involved in biochemical modifications.