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Showing results for restriction enzymes. Search instead for restriction nuclease.

restriction enzymes

Cultural  
  1. Chemicals used in the lab to cut up DNA at specific sites so that it may be sequenced. They function in nature as a form of bacterial self-protection that can cut up foreign DNA. The use of restriction enzymes is crucial in DNA fingerprinting.


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Instead of reproducing DNA replication in a test tube and making different fragment lengths with special nucleotides, a DNA sample is chopped into pieces with special molecular scissors called restriction enzymes.

From Slate Feb. 5, 2019

Many bacteria produce restriction enzymes that cut DNA at a very specific short sequence that is 4–8 pairs long.

From Textbooks Jan. 1, 2018

These plasmid vectors contain many short DNA sequences that can be cut with different commonly available restriction enzymes.

From Textbooks Apr. 25, 2013

But BioBricks-type methods are limited by their use of restriction enzymes.

From Nature May 18, 2011

For example, basic studies of bacterial resistance to viruses led to the discovery of restriction enzymes, the biological scissors that can snip DNA segments at precisely defined locations.

From Time Magazine Archive

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