Deoxyribose versus Ribose sugars
Ribose is
a
single-ring pentose [5-Carbon]
sugar. The numbering of the carbon atoms runs clockwise,
following IUPAC chemistry rules. The distinction between the
two is the absence of the hydroxyl (-OH) group
on the 2’ carbon in the deoxy-ribose sugar in DNA, as
compared with the ribose sugar in RNA. The bulk of the
extra Oxygen molecule in Ribose prevents it
from forming stable double-helices.
All text material ©
2024 by Steven M. Carr