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isomerase

isomerase

1 9.9
An enzyme that changes a molecule into a different form with the same parts
  • noun
  • /ˈaɪsəˌmɛrəs/
  • Specialized
: isomerasa
  • Xylose isomerase is an essential enzyme for converting xylose into glucose during metabolism.
  • xylose isomerase

Examples

  • Bunick and Hanson chose to work on xylose isomerase in part because of its role in the food industry.

    Academic text (2003)
  • Hence, xylose isomerase (XI) is one of the largest volume commercial enzymes used today.

    Academic text (2015)
  • So how big of a fermentor do I need in order to make this much glucose isomerase in terms of activity?

  • Xylose isomerase gene as a marker in transgenic plants:

    Academic text (2015)
  • For optimal performance of the isomerization process, the xylose isomerase can be immobilized.

    Academic text (2015)
  • To convert glucose to fructose, xylose isomerase somehow helps hydrogen atoms move from the second carbon to the first.

    Academic text (2003)
  • All proteases (the enzymes that cut proteins into pieces) work by exchanging hydrogen atoms, as do many isomerases (the enzymes that restructure proteins).

    Academic text (2003)
  • Xylose/glucose isomerase (EC 5.3.1.5) is one of the enzymes related to xylose metabolism, encoded by gene xyl-A.

    Academic text (2015)
  • In the food industry, xylose isomerase helps in the production of high-fructose corn syrup.

  • Researchers are studying how xylose isomerase improves sugar yield in various crops.

Surface Forms

isomerase singular
isomerases plural

Morphology

isomerase = isomer (semi-transparent) = isomer + ase

The formation 'isomer' + '-ase' is a regular enzyme derivation, but both the base 'isomer' and the suffix '-ase' are technical chemistry terms and may be unfamiliar to general learners.

Etymology

Isomerase breaks into three parts: iso- meaning 'same', -mer- meaning 'part' as in monomer and polymer, and -ase meaning 'enzyme'. So an isomerase is an enzyme that changes a molecule into another form with the same parts but a different order.