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Adenine is one of the two purine basess used in forming nucleotides of the nucleic acids DNA and RNA. In DNA, adenine (A) binds to thymine (T) to assist in stabilizing the nucleic acid structures. In RNA, adenine binds to uracil (U).
Adenine forms adenosine, a nucleoside, when attached to ribose, and deoxyadenosine when attached to deoxyribose, and it forms adenosine triphosphate (ATP), a nucleotide, when three phosphate groups are added to adenosine. Adenosine triphosphate is used in cellular metabolism as one of the basic methods of transferring chemical energy between reactions.