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Deoxyadenosine triphosphate

Chemical compound

Wikipedia contributorsAdapted for Fathomly · View authors
1 min read
Source updated July 7, 2026
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Deoxyadenosine triphosphate (dATP) is a nucleotide used in cells for DNA synthesis (or replication), as a substrate of DNA polymerase.

Deoxyadenosine triphosphate is produced from DNA by the action of nuclease P1, adenylate kinase, and pyruvate kinase.

01Health effects

High levels of dATP can be toxic and result in impaired immune function, since dATP acts as a noncompetitive inhibitor for the DNA synthesis enzyme ribonucleotide reductase. Patients with adenosine deaminase deficiency (ADA) tend to have elevated intracellular dATP concentrations because adenosine deaminase normally curbs adenosine levels by converting it into inosine. Deficiency of this deaminase also causes immunodeficiency.

In cardiac myosin, dATP is an alternative to ATP as an energy substrate for facilitating cross-bridge formation.

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This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Deoxyadenosine triphosphate”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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Adenosine triphosphate

Adenosine triphosphate is a nucleoside triphosphate that provides free energy of approximately 58 kJ/mol (0.6 eV) to drive and support many processes in living cells, such as muscle contraction, nerve impulse propagation, and chemical synthesis. Found in all known forms of life, it is often referred to as the "molecular unit of currency" for intracellular energy transfer.

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