| any of a group of enzymes that catalyze the cleavage of DNA molecules at specific sites: used for gene splicing in recombinant DNA technology and for chromosome mapping. |
| restriction enzyme n. Any of a group of enzymes that catalyze the cleavage of DNA at specific sites to produce discrete fragments, used especially in genetic engineering. Also called restriction endonuclease. |
restriction enzyme re·stric·tion enzyme (rĭ-strĭk'shən)
n.
Any of a group of enzymes that cleave DNA at specific sites to produce discrete fragments, used especially in gene-splicing. Also called restriction endonuclease.