Deoxyribose vs ribose

Deoxyribose vs Ribose sugars


2-Deoxy-Ribose in DNA is replaced by Ribose in RNA.

The difference is a hydroxy group ( -OH ) on 2'-C in RNA versus a single proton ( -H ) in DNA. The extra -O- in the ribose backbone prevents formation of stable long double-helical regions in RNA.
 


text © 2015 by Steven M. Carr