The five carbon sugar that is characteristic of RNA is ribose.
Ribose is a pentose sugar (a five-carbon sugar) that plays a critical role in the structure of RNA (ribonucleic acid). Unlike deoxyribose, which is found in DNA and lacks one oxygen atom (hence the prefix ‘deoxy’), ribose has an -OH (hydroxyl) group attached to the 2′ carbon atom. This hydroxyl group is what differentiates ribose from deoxyribose, making RNA more reactive and less stable than DNA. This structural difference is fundamental to the function of RNA, as it allows RNA to play various roles in the cell, including acting as a messenger and participating in protein synthesis.