Video Transcript
A nucleotide will contain a pentose, five-carbon, sugar. Which pentose sugar is found in DNA?
Nucleic acids are large macromolecules that are essential to all forms of life. Nucleic acids are polymers, which are composed of multiple repeating units called
nucleotides. Nucleic acids store and transmit genetic information and can include both DNA and
RNA. Here is the basic structure of a nucleotide. A nucleotide contains a phosphate group, a pentose sugar, and a nitrogenous base.
The pentose sugar can vary depending on whether it’s DNA or RNA. In RNA, the pentose sugar is called ribose and has this structure. And in DNA, the pentose sugar is called deoxyribose and has this structure. The pentose sugar is called deoxyribose in DNA because there’s a hydroxyl group
that’s missing in deoxyribose that is present in ribose. You can see this indicated by the pink box. This is also why we call RNA ribonucleic acid and DNA deoxyribonucleic acid.
Therefore, the pentose sugar found in DNA is deoxyribose.
