: a bacterial enzyme that catalyzes the breaking and rejoining of bonds linking adjacent nucleotides in circular DNA to generate supercoiled DNA helices
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“Gyrase.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gyrase. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
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gyrase
noun
gy·rase
ˈjī-ˌrās, -ˌrāz 
: a bacterial enzyme that is a topoisomerase which catalyzes the ATP-dependent breaking and rejoining of double-strands in circular DNA to generate negative supercoils that twist in the opposite direction as the turns in the original helices
Note: The supercoils introduced by the bacterial gyrase help to relieve the torsional stress in the circular DNA strands that is a consequence of the unwinding of the DNA during replication.
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