désoxyribose

Désoxyribose is a five-carbon sugar that is a key component of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). It is a derivative of ribose, another five-carbon sugar, from which it differs by the absence of an oxygen atom at the 2' (pronounced "two prime") carbon position. This seemingly small difference has profound implications for the stability and function of DNA. Désoxyribose forms the sugar-phosphate backbone of the DNA molecule, with each désoxyribose unit linked to a phosphate group and a nitrogenous base. These bases, adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C), and thymine (T), carry the genetic information. The structure of désoxyribose, with its hydroxyl group removed at the 2' position, makes DNA more stable and less reactive than RNA, which contains ribose. This stability is crucial for long-term storage of genetic material. Désoxyribose is synthesized through a biochemical pathway that begins with ribose-5-phosphate. The lack of the 2'-hydroxyl group in désoxyribose also affects how DNA folds and interacts with proteins, playing a role in gene regulation.