In the standard naming convention for the restriction endonuclease EcoRI, what do the letters 'E', 'co', 'R', and the Roman numeral 'I' represent?
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. Genus Escherichia, species coli, strain RY13, and order of isolation from the bacterium
- Step 1: In bacterial restriction enzyme nomenclature, the first letter derives from the genus name in italics (E for Escherichia).
- Step 2: The next two letters derive from the species name (co for coli).
- Step 3: The fourth letter represents the specific bacterial strain (R for strain RY13), and the Roman numeral denotes the chronological order in which the enzyme was isolated from that strain (I for the first enzyme).
Answer
Genus Escherichia, species coli, strain RY13, and order of isolation from the bacterium.
Why not the others: 'Enzyme, coenzyme...' invents non-taxonomic prefixes; 'Genus Echinococcus...' names a parasitic tapeworm rather than the bacterium; 'Endonuclease, coli...' confuses the functional category endonuclease with the genus name.
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