Uracil is one of the four nucleobases in the nucleic acid of RNA that are represented by the letters A, G, C and U. The others are adenine (A), cytosine (C), and guanine (G). In RNA, uracil binds to adenine via two hydrogen bonds. In DNA, the uracil nucleobase is replaced by thymine. Uracil could be considered ademethylated form of thymine.

     Uracil is a common and naturally occurring pyrimidine derivative. The name "uracil" was coined in 1885 by the German chemist Robert Behrend, who was attempting to synthesize derivatives of uric acid. Originally discovered in 1900 by Alberto Ascoli, it was isolated by hydrolysis of yeast nuclein; it was also found in bovine thymusand spleen, herring sperm, and wheat germ. It is a planar, unsaturated compound that has the ability to absorb light.

    Application:

     Uracil's use in the body is to help carry out the synthesis of many enzymes necessary for cell function through bonding with riboses and phosphates. Uracil serves as allosteric regulator and coenzyme for reactions in the human body and in plants. UMP controls the activity of carbamoyl phosphate synthetase and aspartate transcarbamoylase in plants, while UDP and UTP requlate CPSase II activity in animals. UDP-glucose regulates the conversion of glucose to galactose in the liver and other tissues in the process of carbohydrate metabolism. Uracil is also involved in the biosynthesis of polysaccharides and the transportation of sugars containing aldehydes. It can also increase the risk for cancer in cases in which the body is extremely deficient in folate. The deficiency in folate leads to increased ratio of deoxyuracilmonophosphates (dUMP)/deoxythyminemonophosphates (dTMP) and uracil misincorporation into DNA and eventually low production of DNA.

     Uracil can be used for drug delivery and as a pharmaceutical. When elemental fluorine is reacted with uracil, 5-fluorouracil is produced. 5-Fluorouracil is an anticancer drug (antimetabolite) used to masquerade as uracil during the nucleic acid replication process. Because 5-Fluorouracil is similar in shape to, but does not undergo the same chemistry as, uracil, the drug inhibits RNA replication enzymes, thereby blocking RNA synthesis and stopping the growth of cancerous cells. Uracil can also be used in the synthesis of caffeine

     Uracil can be used to determine microbial contamination of tomatoes. The presence of uracil indicates lactic acid bacteria contamination of the fruit. Uracil derivatives containing a diazine ring are used in pesticides. Uracil derivatives are more often used as antiphotosynthetic herbicides, destroying weeds in cotton, sugar beet, turnips, soya, peas, sunflower crops, vineyards, berry plantations, and orchards.

     In yeast, uracil concentrations are inversely proportional to uracil permease.

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