Which product of the oxidative phase of the pentose phosphate pathway is used for nucleotide synthesis?

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Multiple Choice

Which product of the oxidative phase of the pentose phosphate pathway is used for nucleotide synthesis?

Nucleotide synthesis needs the ribose sugar backbone. In the oxidative phase of the pentose phosphate pathway, glucose-6-phosphate is converted to ribulose-5-phosphate, producing NADPH and releasing CO2. The ribulose-5-phosphate can be converted into ribose-5-phosphate, which is the form that actually feeds into the assembly of nucleotides. NADPH is a reducing power source for biosynthetic reactions, not the nucleotide backbone, and CO2 is just a byproduct. So the product used for nucleotide synthesis is ribose-5-phosphate.

Nucleotide synthesis needs the ribose sugar backbone. In the oxidative phase of the pentose phosphate pathway, glucose-6-phosphate is converted to ribulose-5-phosphate, producing NADPH and releasing CO2. The ribulose-5-phosphate can be converted into ribose-5-phosphate, which is the form that actually feeds into the assembly of nucleotides. NADPH is a reducing power source for biosynthetic reactions, not the nucleotide backbone, and CO2 is just a byproduct. So the product used for nucleotide synthesis is ribose-5-phosphate.

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