Definition of Deoxyribose

Deoxyribose is a sugar molecule having five carbon atoms in its ring. The structure of deoxyribose is the same as that of ribose but lacks oxygen atom at second carbon. Deoxyribose is one of three components of a deoxyribonucleotide. These deoxyribonucleotides (dNTPs) polymerize to form deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA).

Deoxyribose sugar is attached to the nitrogenous base as well as to the phosphate group and hence forms the backbone of the DNA molecules. The nitrogenous bases that get attached to the deoxyribose sugar are adenine, cytosine, guanine and thymine. The bond that exists between these nucleotides is termed as phosphodiester linkage.