1. A deoxyribose sugar: This is a five-carbon sugar molecule, specifically deoxyribose, which gives DNA its name.
2. A phosphate group: This is a negatively charged group that is attached to the 5' carbon of the deoxyribose sugar. It provides the backbone structure of the DNA molecule.
3. A nitrogenous base: There are four different nitrogenous bases found in DNA:
* Adenine (A)
* Guanine (G)
* Cytosine (C)
* Thymine (T)
These bases are attached to the 1' carbon of the deoxyribose sugar. Adenine and guanine are classified as purines, which are double-ringed structures, while cytosine and thymine are classified as pyrimidines, which are single-ringed structures.
The sequence of these nitrogenous bases along the DNA molecule is what encodes genetic information.
