Restriction enzymes are bacterial proteins that recognize specific DNA sequences and cut DNA at or near the recognition site. These enzymes are widely used in molecular genetics for analyzing DNA and creating recombinant DNA molecules.
Restriction enzymes apparently evolved as a primitive immune system in bacteria. If viruses enter a bacterial cell containing restriction enzymes, the viral DNA is fragmented. Destruction of the viral DNA prevents destruction of the bacterial cell by the virus. The term "restriction" derives from the phenomenon in which bacterial viruses are restricted from replicating in certain str…
Restriction enzymes are named based on the organism in which they were discovered. For example, the enzyme Hind III was isolated from Haemophilus influenzae, strain Rd. The first three letters of the name are italicized because they abbreviate the genus and species names of the organism. The fourth letter typically comes from the bacterial strain designation. The Roman numerals are used to identif…
The ability of restriction enzymes to reproducibly cut DNA at specific sequences has led to the widespread use of these tools in many molecular genetics techniques. Restriction enzymes can be used to map DNA fragments or genomes. Mapping means determining the order of the restriction enzyme sites in the genome. These maps form a foundation for much other genetic analysis. Restriction enzymes are a…
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