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ligase

American

[lahy-gays, -gayz] / ˈlaɪ geɪs, -geɪz /

noun

Biochemistry.

any of a class of enzymes that catalyze the joining of two molecules by formation of a covalent bond accompanied by the hydrolysis of ATP.

ligase British

/ ˈlaɪˌɡeɪz /

noun

any of a class of enzymes that catalyse the formation of covalent bonds and are important in the synthesis and repair of biological molecules, such as DNA

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of ligase

1961; < Latin lig ( āre ) to tie, bind + -ase

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

ligase

The drug brings the disease-causing protein and the E3 ligase closer together, causing the E3 ligase to tag the protein for destruction.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

The E3 ligase enzyme cleans up the cell, tagging proteins that are damaged or misfolded for destruction.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

For this, they designed an artificial ribozyme, R3C ligase, to investigate how individual RNA units come together to form a functional structure.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 18, 2024

Or, by introducing a kind of "molecular glue" into the cell, which attaches to the ligase and thereby induces it to recognize and mark the unwanted protein for degradation.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 21, 2024

Once replication is completed, the RNA primers are replaced by DNA nucleotides and the DNA is sealed with DNA ligase.

From Textbooks ● Apr. 25, 2013

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023