nuclease

(noun)

Any of several enzymes capable of cleaving the phosphodiester bonds between the nucleotide subunits of nucleic acids.

Related Terms

Examples of nuclease in the following topics:

  • Antisense Agents

    • This DNA-RNA coupling attracts an endogenous nuclease, RNase H that destroys the bound RNA and frees the DNA antisense to rehybridize with another copy of mRNA.

  • Pancreatic Juice

    • Pancreatic juice is a liquid secreted by the pancreas, which contains a variety of enzymes including trypsinogen, chymotrypsinogen, elastase, carboxypeptidase, pancreatic lipase, nucleases, and amylase.

  • Chemical Digestion of Carbohydrates, Proteins, Lipids, and Nucleic Acids

    • DNA and RNA are broken down into mononucleotides by the nucleases deoxyribonuclease and ribonuclease (DNase and RNase), which are released by the pancreas.

  • Medical Importance of Viruses

    • RNA viruses in particular must coordinate the switch between plus and minus strand synthesis and between replication and transcription while protecting their genomes from cellular nucleases.

  • Unsticking Stuck Ribosomes

    • Nonstop mediated decay mediates this problem by both freeing the stalled ribosomes and marking the nonstop mRNA for degradation in the cell by nucleases.

  • Applications of Genetic Engineering

    • Genes may be removed, or "knocked out" , using a nuclease.

  • Mechanisms of Chemical Digestion

    • RNA and DNA are hydrolized by pancreatic enzymes (ribonucleases, deoxyribonucleases) into nucleic acids, which are further broken down to purine and pyrimidine bases and pentoses by enzymes in the intestinal mucosa (nucleases).

  • Bacterial Transformation

    • Only single-stranded DNA may pass through, one strand is therefore degraded by nucleases in the process, and the translocated single-stranded DNA may then be integrated into the bacterial chromosomes by a RecA-dependent process.

  • Group Translocation

    • The GlyGly-CTERM/rhombosortase system, found in the Shewanella, Vibrio, and a few other genera, seems involved in the release of proteases, nucleases, and other enzymes.

  • DNA Repair

    • The mismatch-repair proteins detect this base and remove it from the newly-synthesized strand by nuclease action.