The enzyme exodeoxyribonuclease VII (EC 3.1.11.6, ''Escherichia coli'' exonuclease VII, ''E. coli'' exonuclease VII, endodeoxyribonuclease VII, exodeoxyribonuclease VII) is a

bacterial Bacteria (; : bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among the ...

exonuclease Exonucleases are enzymes that work by cleaving nucleotides one at a time from the end (exo) of a polynucleotide chain. A hydrolyzing reaction that breaks phosphodiester bonds at either the 3′ or the 5′ end occurs. Its close relative is th ...

enzyme An enzyme () is a protein that acts as a biological catalyst by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrate (chemistry), substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different mol ...

. It is composed of two nonidentical subunits; one large subunit and 4 small ones. that catalyses exonucleolytic cleavage in either 5′- to 3′- or 3′- to 5′-direction to yield nucleoside 5′-phosphates. The large subunit also contains an ''N''-terminal

OB-fold In molecular biology, the OB-fold (oligonucleotide/oligosaccharide-binding fold) is a small protein structural motif observed in different proteins that bind oligonucleotides or oligosaccharides. It was originally identified in 1993 in four unr ...

domain A domain is a geographic area controlled by a single person or organization. Domain may also refer to: Law and human geography * Demesne, in English common law and other Medieval European contexts, lands directly managed by their holder rather ...

that binds to

nucleic acid Nucleic acids are large biomolecules that are crucial in all cells and viruses. They are composed of nucleotides, which are the monomer components: a pentose, 5-carbon sugar, a phosphate group and a nitrogenous base. The two main classes of nuclei ...

s. The widely used

quinolone antibiotic Quinolone antibiotics constitute a large group of broad-spectrum bacteriocidals that share a bicyclic core structure related to the substance 4-quinolone. They are used in human and veterinary medicine to treat bacterial infections, as wel ...

s induce

DNA damage DNA repair is a collection of processes by which a cell identifies and corrects damage to the DNA molecules that encode its genome. A weakened capacity for DNA repair is a risk factor for the development of cancer. DNA is constantly modified ...

in bacterial cells by trapping

DNA gyrase DNA gyrase, or simply gyrase, is an enzyme within the class of topoisomerase and is a subclass of Type II topoisomerases that reduces topological strain in an ATP dependent manner while double-stranded DNA is being unwound by elongating RNA-po ...

(an essential

type II topoisomerase Type II topoisomerases are topoisomerases that cut both strands of the DNA helix simultaneously in order to manage DNA tangles and supercoils. They use the hydrolysis of ATP, unlike Type I topoisomerase. In this process, these enzymes change th ...

), leading to blocked gyrase cleavage complexes. Exonuclease VII participates in repairing such DNA damage by resolving the trapped cleavage complexes. When ''

Escherichia coli ''Escherichia coli'' ( )Wells, J. C. (2000) Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Harlow ngland Pearson Education Ltd. is a gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped, coliform bacterium of the genus '' Escherichia'' that is commonly fo ...

'' bacteria ''

recA RecA is a 38 kilodalton protein essential for the repair and maintenance of DNA in bacteria. Structural and functional homologs to RecA have been found in all kingdoms of life. RecA serves as an archetype for this class of homologous DNA repair p ...

'' mutants are UV-irradiated, “reckless” DNA degradation occurs that involves exonuclease VII.

References

{{Portal bar, Biology, border=no Protein families EC 3.1.11