ribose

/ruy"bohs/, n. Biochem.

a white, crystalline, water-soluble, slightly sweet solid, C₅H₁₀O₅, a pentose sugar obtained by the hydrolysis of RNA.

[1890-95; < G Ribose, earlier Ribonsäure, equiv. to Ribon (from Arabinose ARABINOSE, by arbitrary rearrangement and shortening) + Säure acid]

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Five-carbon sugar found in RNA.

(In DNA the corresponding sugar is the closely related deoxyribose.) A ribose molecule combined with adenine, guanine, cytosine, or uracil forms a nucleoside; adding a phosphate group forms a nucleotide. The ribose of one nucleotide joins with the phosphate of the next to form the RNA backbone. Ribose phosphates are components of various coenzymes and are used by microorganisms in synthesizing histidine.

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▪ biochemistry

also called  D-ribose,  

      five-carbon sugar found in RNA (ribonucleic acid), where it alternates with phosphate groups to form the “backbone” of the RNA polymer and binds to nitrogenous bases. Ribose phosphates are components of the nucleotide coenzymes and are utilized by microorganisms in the synthesis of the amino acid histidine.

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