Definition of Ribose

Ribose is a monosaccharide that is composed of five carbon atoms and has aldehyde as the functional group which is present at the last carbon atom. The structure of ribose and deoxyribose is almost similar. The difference lies at the second carbon i.e. ribose has a hydroxyl group at C-2 whereas deoxyribose has only hydrogen atom.

Ribose, phosphate group and nitrogenous bases link together to form the ribonucleotides which further polymerize to form ribonucleic acid (RNA). The backbone of the RNA molecule is formed by the phosphate group and sugar molecules. The nitrogenous bases that are present in the RNA molecule are adenine, cytosine, guanine, and uracil.