2deoxyribose5phosphate

2-deoxyribose-5-phosphate is a five-carbon sugar phosphate derived from the deoxyribose moiety of nucleosides. It is the phosphorylated form of 2-deoxyribose at the C-5 position and serves as a key intermediate in the catabolism and salvage of thymidine.

In many bacteria and some other organisms, thymidine is first break down by thymidine phosphorylase to thymine and 2-deoxyribose-1-phosphate. A phosphopentomutase then converts 2-deoxyribose-1-phosphate to 2-deoxyribose-5-phosphate. The enzyme 2-deoxyribose-5-phosphate aldolase (DERA) can cleave dR5P into acetaldehyde and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate, funneling carbon into glycolysis and related pathways. Thus dR5P connects nucleoside degradation with central carbon metabolism.

As an intermediate, 2-deoxyribose-5-phosphate plays a role in the thymidine salvage pathway and, more broadly, in the utilization of deoxyribonucleosides as nutrient sources. Its levels and flux are influenced by the activity of thymidine phosphorylase, phosphopentomutase, and DERA. While not a primary metabolite in human central metabolism, dR5P is of interest in microbial nucleotide metabolism and studies of nucleoside catabolism.