Ribose is a five
carbon sugar that is critical to living creatures. It is a component of the
RNA that is used for genetic transcription, and is related to
deoxyribose which is a component of
DNA. It is also a component of
ATP,
NADH[?], and several other chemicals that are critical to the
metabolic process[?].
Refer to the article on Deoxyribose for more information on both sugars, how they relate to each other, and how they relate to genetic material.