extrapolases

Extrapolases are a hypothetical or speculative class of enzymes proposed to catalyze extrapolative reactions that extend a molecular chain beyond a defined template. In theory, extrapolases would enable growth or modification of polymers in ways that are not strictly bounded by an existing template, effectively performing chemical extrapolation at the enzymatic level.

Conceptually, extrapolases would differ from known template-dependent enzymes such as polymerases by operating under mechanisms that exceed traditional template length constraints. Proposed modes include non-templated initiation followed by template-guided elongation, radical-based growth that can introduce new units beyond the known template, or alternative coding rules that permit information to be added beyond the original sequence. These ideas remain speculative and are not supported by conclusive experimental evidence.

Status in the scientific literature is limited: extrapolases are not recognized as a formal enzyme class in standard databases, and there is no widely accepted experimental validation under conventional biochemical conditions. The term primarily appears in theoretical discussions, thought experiments, and some science fiction references, where organisms or engineered systems exercise growth or synthesis beyond established templates.

Potentially imagined applications of extrapolases include the creation of novel polymers or biomaterials with extended chain lengths, theoretical models of molecular cognition or information processing, and conceptual frameworks for studying extrapolative capabilities in biology. However, until robust evidence emerges, extrapolases remain speculative and lack a consensus definition within mainstream biochemistry. See also: polymerase, ligase, synthase, extrapolation.