Historical Aspects of Restriction Endonucleases as Intelligent Scissors for Genetic Engineering
Restriction endonucleases are a component of restriction–modification systems, where the main biological function is to protect bacterial cells from incoming foreign DNA molecules. There are four main types of restriction enzymes (types I, II, III, and IV), which differ in protein composition, cofac...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2023-09-01
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| Series: | Fermentation |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2311-5637/9/10/874 |
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| author | Irina V. Alekseeva Nikita A. Kuznetsov |
| author_facet | Irina V. Alekseeva Nikita A. Kuznetsov |
| author_sort | Irina V. Alekseeva |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Restriction endonucleases are a component of restriction–modification systems, where the main biological function is to protect bacterial cells from incoming foreign DNA molecules. There are four main types of restriction enzymes (types I, II, III, and IV), which differ in protein composition, cofactor requirements, and mode of action. The most studied are representatives of type II, which specifically recognize DNA sequences of 4–8 bp and catalyze DNA cleavage within these sequences or not far from them. The exceptional precision of type II enzymes has made them indispensable for DNA manipulations. Although hundreds of DNA restriction enzymes are currently known, there is still a need for enzymes that recognize new DNA targets. For this reason, the discovery of new natural restriction endonucleases and rational design of their properties (to obtain enzymes with high specificity for a unique nucleotide sequence at a restriction site and without nonspecific activity) will expand the list of enzymes for use in biotechnology and genetic engineering. This review briefly touches upon the main types of restriction endonucleases, their classification, nomenclature, and typical properties, and it concisely describes approaches to the construction of enzymes with altered properties. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T21:16:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d8d99b5bb0e441b38ba82f3cf2e2144a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2311-5637 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T21:16:05Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Fermentation |
| spelling | doaj.art-d8d99b5bb0e441b38ba82f3cf2e2144a2023-11-19T16:25:59ZengMDPI AGFermentation2311-56372023-09-0191087410.3390/fermentation9100874Historical Aspects of Restriction Endonucleases as Intelligent Scissors for Genetic EngineeringIrina V. Alekseeva0Nikita A. Kuznetsov1Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk 630090, RussiaInstitute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk 630090, RussiaRestriction endonucleases are a component of restriction–modification systems, where the main biological function is to protect bacterial cells from incoming foreign DNA molecules. There are four main types of restriction enzymes (types I, II, III, and IV), which differ in protein composition, cofactor requirements, and mode of action. The most studied are representatives of type II, which specifically recognize DNA sequences of 4–8 bp and catalyze DNA cleavage within these sequences or not far from them. The exceptional precision of type II enzymes has made them indispensable for DNA manipulations. Although hundreds of DNA restriction enzymes are currently known, there is still a need for enzymes that recognize new DNA targets. For this reason, the discovery of new natural restriction endonucleases and rational design of their properties (to obtain enzymes with high specificity for a unique nucleotide sequence at a restriction site and without nonspecific activity) will expand the list of enzymes for use in biotechnology and genetic engineering. This review briefly touches upon the main types of restriction endonucleases, their classification, nomenclature, and typical properties, and it concisely describes approaches to the construction of enzymes with altered properties.https://www.mdpi.com/2311-5637/9/10/874DNA cleavagephosphodiester bond hydrolysisrestriction endonucleaserestriction–modificationprotein-DNA interactionstructural family |
| spellingShingle | Irina V. Alekseeva Nikita A. Kuznetsov Historical Aspects of Restriction Endonucleases as Intelligent Scissors for Genetic Engineering Fermentation DNA cleavage phosphodiester bond hydrolysis restriction endonuclease restriction–modification protein-DNA interaction structural family |
| title | Historical Aspects of Restriction Endonucleases as Intelligent Scissors for Genetic Engineering |
| title_full | Historical Aspects of Restriction Endonucleases as Intelligent Scissors for Genetic Engineering |
| title_fullStr | Historical Aspects of Restriction Endonucleases as Intelligent Scissors for Genetic Engineering |
| title_full_unstemmed | Historical Aspects of Restriction Endonucleases as Intelligent Scissors for Genetic Engineering |
| title_short | Historical Aspects of Restriction Endonucleases as Intelligent Scissors for Genetic Engineering |
| title_sort | historical aspects of restriction endonucleases as intelligent scissors for genetic engineering |
| topic | DNA cleavage phosphodiester bond hydrolysis restriction endonuclease restriction–modification protein-DNA interaction structural family |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2311-5637/9/10/874 |
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