Talk:Restriction enzyme
From Academic Kids
Under the heading "Types of restriction enzymes," the last sentence reads: "The vast majority of known restriction enzymes are of type II, and it is these that find the most use as laboratory tools." Though not explicitly illogical because the writer has not asserted any causation between the two clauses, it is implied that since the vast majority are type II, scientists have found the most uses for them. In truth, however, I think it's the fact that many applications of REs require cutting at specific nucleotide sequences that has driven many biotech. companies to search actively for more type II REs in nature. Therefore, it is an effect of their usefulness that there is a preponderance of type II REs in the literature. Just quibbling...
I also agree with the later suggestion that REs be identified more precisely as "restriction endonucleases." I doubt that there are any "restriction exonucleases," that might only cut at certain sequences found at the 5' or 3' end of DNA, but "endonuclease" is more descriptive, more precise, and I believe more commonly used in the literature, though perhaps not colloquially.
who found restriction enzymes?
I think the proper name for these enzymes is "restriction endonuclease." It is more descriptive, and it is the term used by the suppliers of these enzymes. I think that "restriction enzyme" is a shorthand that we use just because "endonuclease" is a bulky word. I guess that when we figure out who first discovered them, we'll know what their official name is. adam
- I wrote that final sentence in "Types of restriction enzymes". I didn't mean to imply causation, and I agree that no such causation exists (I'm not sure about the causation in the opposite direction though; I suspect that there really are more type II systems out there than the other two types). Feel free to make it clearer.
- As far as the name, "restriction enzyme" is perhaps a bit informal, but common even in publications. Pubmed searches for "restriction enzyme" and "restriction endonuclease" turn up roughly the same number of matches ("restriction enzyme" actually has a slight edge). In informal communications "restriction enzyme" is much more common. If we want to be sticklers, or merely precise, we could go all the way and say "restriction endodeoxyribonuclease". Josh Cherry 23:16, 18 Aug 2004 (UTC)
Examples
Are we planning to make a catalog of examples? There are MANY restriciton endonucleases, and many of hte examples presented in the article are not special. Unless we are seeking a comprehensive reference, the examples list should be much shorter and only include an example of a 3' overhang, a 5' overhang, and a blunt cut. We might also want to include examples of the different types of restriction endonucleases (based on the physical relationship of recognition sequence and cut site). Finally, we should focus on the most famous or well studied ones (such as EcoRI). AdamRetchless 13:21, 6 Jul 2004 (UTC)
