Deoxyribose vs Ribose
sugars
2-Deoxy-Ribose in DNA is replaced by Ribose in RNA.
The difference is a
hydroxy group ( -OH
) on 2'-C in RNA versus
a single proton ( -H ) in
DNA. The extra -O- in the ribose backbone
prevents formation of stable long double-helical regions in RNA.
text
© 2015 by Steven M. Carr