Definition

1. Noun:
   • A monosaccharide sugar containing five carbon atoms per molecule: A pentose is a simple sugar (monosaccharide) with a molecular structure based on a backbone of five carbon atoms. Pentoses are fundamental building blocks in biochemistry, notably in the formation of nucleic acids (like DNA and RNA) and other important molecules.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • Ribose and deoxyribose are essential pentoses found in RNA and DNA, respectively.
  • The metabolic pathway involves the conversion of a hexose sugar into a pentose.
  • Scientists studied the properties of the pentose arabinose.

Advanced Usage

• "Pentose phosphate pathway": A fundamental metabolic pathway parallel to glycolysis that generates pentose sugars (like ribose-5-phosphate) and NADPH, a reducing agent for biosynthetic reactions.
  • The pentose phosphate pathway is crucial for nucleotide synthesis and managing oxidative stress in cells.

Variants and Related Words

• Pentosan (n): A polysaccharide composed of pentose units.
  • Xylan is a common pentosan found in plant cell walls.
• Deoxypentose (n): A pentose sugar that has lost an oxygen atom, such as deoxyribose.
  • Deoxyribose is the deoxypentose sugar component of DNA.

Synonyms

• Five-carbon sugar: A descriptive synonym emphasizing the atomic structure.
• Monosaccharide (with five carbons): A broader category specifying the carbon count.

Related Phrases

(This word is a specific scientific term and does not commonly form phrasal verbs or idioms in everyday language.)

Noun

1. any monosaccharide sugar containing five atoms of carbon per molecule