What sugar is in the backbone of DNA?

What sugar is in the backbone of DNA?

• A. Ribose
• B. Glucose
• C. Deoxyribose
• D. Fructose

Answer: (C)

DNA’s backbone is built from a five-carbon sugar called deoxyribose. The name tells you what makes it special: it has one less oxygen at the 2' carbon compared with ribose, so the 2' position carries a hydrogen instead of a hydroxyl group. This absence of the 2' hydroxyl makes DNA more chemically stable, helping preserve genetic information over time. Glucose and fructose are hexose sugars used for energy, not for the nucleic acid backbone, while ribose is the sugar found in RNA. So deoxyribose is the sugar in the DNA backbone.

DNA’s backbone is built from a five-carbon sugar called deoxyribose. The name tells you what makes it special: it has one less oxygen at the 2' carbon compared with ribose, so the 2' position carries a hydrogen instead of a hydroxyl group. This absence of the 2' hydroxyl makes DNA more chemically stable, helping preserve genetic information over time. Glucose and fructose are hexose sugars used for energy, not for the nucleic acid backbone, while ribose is the sugar found in RNA. So deoxyribose is the sugar in the DNA backbone.