nukleaseenzyme

Nuklease enzyme is a term that may refer to nuclease enzymes, a broad class of hydrolytic enzymes that cleave phosphodiester bonds within nucleic acids. They can act on DNA, RNA, or both, and operate at various positions along the chain. Nucleases are typically categorized by substrate specificity (DNases versus RNases), by mode of action (end nuclease that cuts within a nucleic acid strand and exonuclease that trims from the ends), and by sequence selectivity (non-specific versus sequence-specific nucleases). Many nucleases require divalent metal ions such as magnesium or manganese as cofactors, though some function with other metals or independently.

Key examples include DNase I, a non-specific endonuclease that cleaves DNA; DNase II, an acid endonuclease involved in lysosomal DNA degradation; RNase A, a widely used enzyme that cleaves RNA; and RNase H, which degrades RNA in RNA-DNA hybrids. Programmable nucleases, such as Cas nucleases used in genome editing, recognize specific DNA sequences with guide RNAs. Some restriction endonucleases also function as sequence-specific nucleases in bacteria and in biotechnological applications.

Biologically, nucleases participate in DNA replication, repair, recombination, RNA processing and turnover, and programmed cell death. In laboratory settings, nucleases are used to remove unwanted nucleic acids, study nucleic acid structure, and enable various molecular biology workflows. Related topics include nucleases such as DNase, RNase, restriction enzymes, and programmable Cas nucleases.