RNR operates by reducing the ribose sugar in ribonucleotides to deoxyribose. This reduction process is crucial for the production of deoxyribonucleotide triphosphates (dNTPs), the substrates used by DNA polymerases during DNA synthesis. The enzyme is composed of two subunits: the large R1 subunit and the small R2 subunit, which work in concert to facilitate this biochemical transformation.
