Deoxyribose | DNA, Nucleic Acids, Sugars | Britannica (original) (raw)

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Also known as: d-2-deoxyribose

Written and fact-checked by

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Also called:

d-2-deoxyribose

deoxyribose, five-carbon sugar component of DNA (q.v.; deoxyribonucleic acid), where it alternates with phosphate groups to form the “backbone” of the DNA polymer and binds to nitrogenous bases. The presence of deoxyribose instead of ribose is one difference between DNA and RNA (ribonucleic acid). Deoxyribose was synthesized in 1935, but it was not isolated from DNA until 1954.