How to Distinguish Between Deoxyribose and Ribose
Just about everyone has taken a biology course at one time during school. One subject that is taught during a biology course is the difference between deoxyribose and ribose. While most people will never use the information they learn during their biology course, you may need to know the difference between these two at some point in your career, depending on your field of expertise.
- Check the specific strands of DNA and RNA that you are dealing with. The biggest difference between deoxyribose and ribose is that deoxyribose only forms in DNA, while RNA is where riboses form. Without going into too much detail and having to look at the molecular elements of each of these strands, you can tell the difference between DNA and RNA by their structures. DNA is double-stranded and has a double helix, while RNA is only single-stranded.
- Examine the structure of the deoxyribose. The structure of the deoxyribose consists primarily of phosphates, hydrogen and its casing. There are four chloride bonds and one oxygen bond in the hydrogen molecule of the deoxyribose, and it has four hydrogen bonds that are connected to the four chloride bonds.
- Examine the structure of the ribose. the ribose structure consists of the same elements as the deoxyribose which is phosphate, hydrogen and a base, but there is an extra oxygen molecule that is bonded to the hydrogen molecule in ribose. This is a big difference between these two structures, because the extra oxygen molecule that is located in ribose is what determines the name of deoxyribose; the word deoxy means "lacking oxygen."