Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Any of various enzymes, such as DNA polymerase, RNA polymerase, or reverse transcriptase, that catalyze the formation of polynucleotides of DNA or RNA using an existing strand of DNA or RNA as a template.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun biochemistry Any of various enzymes that catalyze the formation of polymers of DNA or RNA using an existing strand of DNA or RNA as a template.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun an enzyme that catalyzes the formation of new DNA and RNA from an existing strand of DNA or RNA

Etymologies

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Examples

  • A key part of Pacific Biosciences 'system is an enzyme called polymerase that human cells use to copy DNA.

    Intel, Others Back New DNA Sequencer 2008

  • I'm not sure what you are referring to by 'known mycobacterial mutations', but the main polymerase responsible for induced mutagenesis in M. tuberculosis including antibiotic resistance following infection

    Browsing the Latest Issue of Scientific American 2006

  • You cite an example of defects in polymerase proofreading and mismatch repair leading to an increased risk of cancer.

    The Memory Hole 2005

  • It was a stretch of DNA that could be transcribed by an enzyme called polymerase into a chemically similar molecule known as RNA.

    The Economist: Correspondent's diary 2010

  • It was a stretch of DNA that could be transcribed by an enzyme called polymerase into a chemically similar molecule known as RNA.

    The Economist: Correspondent's diary 2010

  • A protein complex called the polymerase, which is attached at the end of RNA, helps kick off replication once the assembly is injected into a healthy cell.

    Health News from Medical News Today 2009

  • I'm not sure what you are referring to by 'known mycobacterial mutations', but the main polymerase responsible for induced mutagenesis in M. tuberculosis including antibiotic resistance following infection (DnaE2 – see Boshoff et al Cell.

    Browsing the Latest Issue of Scientific American 2006

  • As part of its work, the research team used a highly sensitive technique that relied on something called a polymerase chain reaction PCR.

    The Panic Virus Seth Mnookin 2011

  • As part of its work, the research team used a highly sensitive technique that relied on something called a polymerase chain reaction PCR.

    The Panic Virus Seth Mnookin 2011

  • As part of its work, the research team used a highly sensitive technique that relied on something called a polymerase chain reaction PCR.

    The Panic Virus Seth Mnookin 2011

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