phosphorylase

American  

[fos-fer-uh-leys, -leyz, fos-fawr-uh-, -for-] / ˈfɒs fər əˌleɪs, -ˌleɪz, fɒsˈfɔr ə-, -ˈfɒr- /

noun

Biochemistry.

1. any enzyme, occurring widely in animal and plant tissue, that in the presence of an inorganic phosphate catalyzes the conversion of glycogen into sugar phosphate.

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phosphorylase British  

/ fɒsˈfɒrɪˌleɪs, -ˌleɪz /

noun

1. any of a group of enzymes that catalyse the hydrolysis of glycogen to glucose-1-phosphate

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Etymology

Origin of phosphorylase

First recorded in 1935–40; phosphor- + -yl + -ase

Example Sentences

They focused on phosphorylase, an enzyme that exists in active and inactive forms, but at the time it was not known how or why those forms were different.

From Washington Post • Aug. 31, 2021

By contrast, in leaves, carbon-fixation-specific genes such as plastidic aldolase, fructose-1,6-biphosphatase and distinct leaf isoforms of starch synthase, starch branching enzyme, starch phosphorylase and ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase were upregulated.

From Nature • Jul. 13, 2011

The & likeliest candidates: Lesch-Nyhan syndrome; adenosine deaminase deficiency, an immune disorder of the type that killed the famous "Bubble Boy"; and purine nucleoside phosphorylase deficiency, another illness of the immune system.

From Time Magazine Archive