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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Example Sentences

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

Once DNA has been cut by restriction enzymes, scientists can use gel electrophoresis to separate the fragments.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2018

In the late 1960s, scientists discovered special prokaryote enzymes, called restriction enzymes, that could cut DNA at specific sites.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2018

No matter which technique is used, researchers need to be careful when choosing their restriction enzymes.

From Nature • Feb. 9, 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