What is the five-carbon sugar that is a component of DNA nucleotides?

The five-carbon sugar that is a component of DNA nucleotides is deoxyribose. This sugar is specifically referred to as 2-deoxy-D-ribose, which means it lacks one oxygen atom when compared to ribose, the sugar found in RNA.

In the structure of DNA, deoxyribose provides the necessary framework for the formation of the backbone of the DNA molecule, linking with phosphate groups and nitrogenous bases to form nucleotides. Each DNA nucleotide consists of a deoxyribose sugar, one of four nitrogenous bases (adenine, thymine, cytosine, or guanine), and a phosphate group. This structural role is crucial for the stability and integrity of the DNA molecule.

Ribose is the sugar found in RNA nucleotides; while it is similar to deoxyribose, it contains a hydroxyl (-OH) group on the second carbon atom, which alters the properties of RNA compared to DNA. Glucose and fructose are six-carbon sugars and do not partake in the structure of DNA or RNA.