Why Ribose Was Selected as the Sugar Component of Nucleic Acids

Abstract

During evolution ribose was selected as the exclusive sugar component of nucleic acids. The selection is explained by using molecular models and by eliminating most of the other common sugars by looking at their chemical structure and envisioning how they would fit in a nucleic acid model. Comparisons of sugar pucker conformations and configurations of pentoses indicate that ribose was not randomly selected but the only choice, since β-D-ribose fits best into the structure of physiological forms of nucleic acids. In other nucleotides containing arabinose, xylose, or lyxose, the C₂′-OH and/or the C₃′-OH are above the furanose ring, causing steric interference with the bulky base and the C₅′-OH group.