An enzyme that joins two DNA or RNA molecules together by forming phosphodiester bonds between their ends. DNA ligase is essential for DNA replication, repair, and genetic engineering applications.
From Latin 'ligare' meaning 'to bind' or 'to tie,' with the enzyme suffix '-ase.' The term was coined in the 1960s when these DNA-joining enzymes were first discovered and characterized in bacterial systems.
If restriction enzymes are molecular scissors, then ligase is molecular glue! It's the enzyme that allows scientists to stick foreign genes into bacteria to make insulin, or join DNA fragments in genetic engineering - without ligase, the biotechnology revolution couldn't have happened.
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