Autolysin

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An enzyme capable of breaking down the cell or tissue in which it is produced, causing the cell to dissolve itself
2. A substance that triggers the self-digestion of cells by dissolving their own structural components from within
3. A lytic enzyme released inside an organism that destroys the cellular material of the same organism that made it

Etymology: Autolysin is a technical coinage built from two parts. The first, "auto-", comes from the Greek "autos", meaning "self", and appears in many scientific terms where a process acts on its own source. The second, "-lysin", comes from the Greek "lysis", meaning "loosening" or "dissolution", with the suffix "-in" that chemists attach to protein substances such as enzymes. Put together, the word names a substance that dissolves its own cell. The "-lysis" element is the older and more productive half of the compound. Biologists used it to describe the bursting or breakdown of cells, and "-lysin" was formed on that pattern to name the agents that bring such breakdown about. Autolysin therefore belongs to a family of coinages that includes words for bacteria-killing and cell-dissolving substances, all sharing the same Greek core.