Enzyme Classification and Nomenclature

Sinead Boyce, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland
Keith F Tipton, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland

Published online: September 2005

DOI: 10.1038/npg.els.0003893

Enzyme classification and nomenclature is a system that allows the unambiguous identification of enzymes in terms of the reactions they catalyse. This relies on a numerical system to class enzymes in groups according to the types of reaction catalysed and systematic naming that describes the chemical reaction involved.

Keywords: enzymes; classification; nomenclature

 Further Reading
    Alberty RA, Cornish‐Bowden A, Gibson QH et al. (1996) Recommendations for nomenclature and tables in biochemical thermodynamics. European Journal of Biochemistry 240: 1–14.
    ePath BioCyc Knowledge Library[http://biocyc.org/].
    ePath BRENDA Enzyme Information System[http://www.brenda.uni‐koeln.de/].
    book Dixon M and Webb EC (1958) Enzymes, pp. 183–227. London: Longmans Green.
    ePath Enzymes and Metabolic Pathways database, EMP[http://www.empproject.com/].
    book Enzyme Nomenclature (1992)Recommendations of the Nomenclature Committee of the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology on the Nomenclature and Classification of Enzymes. New York: Academic Press.
    book Enzyme Supplements (1999)Prepared for the NC‐IUBMB by Tipton KF and Boyce S.[http://www.chem.qmul.ac.uk/iubmb/enzyme/].
    ePath ERGO Light Integrated Genomics Database.[http://www.ergo‐light.com/].
    ePath IUBMB Nomenclature Committee Enzyme Nomenclature. Recommendations of the Nomenclature Committee of the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.[http://www.chem.qmul.ac.uk/iubmb/enzyme/].
    ePath IUPAC Nomenclature of Organic Chemistry[http://www.acdlabs.com/iupac/nomenclature/].
    ePath Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes, KEGG[http://www.genome.ad.jp/kegg/].
    ePath Newsletter 1996. IUPAC‐IUBMB Joint Commission on Biochemical Nomenclature (JCBN) and Nomenclature Committee of IUBMB (NC‐IUBMB). Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics(1997) 344: 242–252; Biochemical Journal(1997) 327: 311–319; Chemistry International(1997) 19: 116–119; European Journal of Biochemistry(1997) 247: 733–739; Glycoconjugate Journal(1998) 15: 637–647. Also available on‐line at[http://www.chem.qmul.ac.uk/iubmb/newsletter/].
    ePath NIST Standard Reference Database on the Thermodynamics of Enzyme‐Catalyzed Reactions[http://www.bmcd.nist.gov:8080/enzyme/enzyme.html].
    book Panico R, Richer J‐C and Powell WH (1994) A Guide to IUPAC Nomenclature of Organic Compounds. Oxford: Blackwell Science.
    ePath Peptidases (1998) Prepared for the NC‐IUBMB by Barrett AJ, Bond JS, Fiedler F et al.[http://www.chem.qmul.ac.uk/iubmb/enzyme/EC34/].
    ePath SWISSPROT ENZYME. Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (SIB) Enzyme nomenclature database primarily based on the recommendations of the Nomenclature Committee of the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (IUBMB)[http://www.ca.expasy.org/enzyme/].
    ePath The Agora biochemistry database[http://sthenias.cecs.missouri.edu/test_agora/].
    other University of Minnesota Biocatalysis/Biodegradation Database.

Related Sub-Topics:

Enzymes: Structure and Action Mechanism
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Article Title: Enzyme Classification and Nomenclature
 
How to Cite close
Boyce, Sinead, and Tipton, Keith F(Sep 2005) Enzyme Classification and Nomenclature. In: eLS. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester. http://www.els.net [doi: 10.1038/npg.els.0003893]