Overview
ABSTRACT
Acellular, unicellular or multicellular organisms have many enzymes carrying out various specific biochemical reactions contributing to the development of these living organisms. This article devoted to functional enzymology presents the enzymes involved in gene replication and expression. These molecules allow the biosynthesis of nucleic acids or proteins from genetic material, either from Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) or Ribonucleic Acid (RNA). The first part of the article presents non-exhaustive tables of general classification of enzymes, essential for an overview of their importance in the living world.
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Read the articleAUTHORS
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Julien DUMOND: Doctor in virology and enzymology - Consultant to pharmaceutical companies, Metz, France
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Serge KIRKIACHARIAN: Doctor of Physical Sciences, Pharmacist - Professor Emeritus of Therapeutic Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmaceutical and Biological Sciences, Université Paris-Sud - Honorary Head of Department, Paris Hospitals, France
INTRODUCTION
The notions of biology and biochemistry presented in this article and in the
The first enzymes studied in this article are those involved in gene replication and expression in various living or cell-free organisms.
As the number of enzymes listed is very large, a classification system has been established. The first part of this article is devoted to explaining and detailing this classification system, developed by the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, which lists seven main enzyme families according to the reaction catalyzed and the Enzyme Commission codes (EC codes):
EC 1: oxidoreductases,
EC 2: transferases,
EC 3: hydrolases,
EC 4: lyases,
EC 5: isomerases,
EC 6: ligases,
EC 7: translocases.
While this classification is useful, at first glance, for listing an enzyme and analyzing catalytically related molecules, it does not allow us to specify its role in the organism's cellular life, nor to characterize the enzymes with which it is directly linked.
The classification can be repeated with details ranging from gene expression to the relationships that the enzyme can create with other molecules
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KEYWORDS
enzymatic classification | polymerases | ribosomes
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