An enzyme that breaks down DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) by cutting the bonds in its sugar-phosphate backbone.
From deoxy- + ribo- (five-carbon sugar) + nuclease (enzyme that breaks nucleic acids). Named for its specific action on DNA, the deoxy form of ribonucleic acid.
Desoxyribonuclease is nature's DNA scissors—bacteria use it as a weapon against enemy DNA, and scientists weaponized it too: they use it to destroy contaminating DNA in labs and to study how DNA breaks down in cells.
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