Dnaase

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An enzyme that catalyzes the breakdown of DNA molecules into smaller components by cleaving the phosphodiester bonds ; a biological catalyst involved in DNA degradation during cellular processes ; a protein that facilitates the hydrolysis of deoxyribonucleic acid into nucleotides
2. A substance that accelerates the decomposition of DNA by severing its strands ; an enzymatic agent used in molecular biology to remove DNA contaminants ; a specialized protein that disassembles DNA into its fundamental units during various biochemical reactions
3. A molecule functioning as a catalyst to dismantle DNA structure ; an enzyme employed to digest DNA in research or cellular metabolism ; a biochemical catalyst that cleaves the DNA polymer into smaller nucleotide fragments

Etymology: DNase is a shortened name for "deoxyribonuclease," coined in the twentieth century by combining "deoxyribonucleic acid" with the suffix "-ase," which chemists use for enzymes. The "-ase" ending was itself a deliberate invention: in 1898 the French chemist Émile Duclaux took "-ase" from "diastase," the name given in 1833 to the first enzyme ever isolated, a substance that breaks down starch. Duclaux meant the suffix to signal a biological catalyst, so the word is essentially a nickname built from the very first enzyme's name. The "deoxyribo-" part traces to "ribose," the sugar in RNA, with "deoxy-" marking the sugar in DNA as having one fewer oxygen atom. "Nucleic" comes from the cell nucleus, where these acids were first found in the 1860s. Each piece therefore records a stage in the discovery of nucleic acids, from the nucleus to the sugar structure.

Synonyms: deoxyribonuclease