In: Biology
What is the ‘sugar’ component of DNA? Of RNA?
DNA and RNA nucleotides also
have slightly different sugars. The five-carbon sugar in DNA is
called deoxyribose, while in RNA, the sugar is ribose. Deoxyribose
sugar is a pentagonal Furanose ring made up of 1 oxygen and 4
carbon atoms. At carbon number 2' , -OH is replaced by -H. Ribose
sugar is found in RNA and is also a Furanose ring with functional
group (-OH) at carbon number 2 and 3. These two are very similar in
structure, with just one difference: the second carbon of ribose
bears a hydroxyl group, while the equivalent carbon of deoxyribose
has a hydrogen instead. The carbon atoms of a nucleotide’s sugar
molecule are numbered as 1′, 2′, 3′, 4′, and 5′ (1′ is read as “one
prime”). In a nucleotide, the sugar occupies a central position,
with the base attached to its 1′ carbon and the phosphate group (or
groups) attached to its 5′ carbon.