Is it possible to enzymatically convert dNTPs to ddNTPs and vice-versa?

[Nathan McCorkle]

Looking for two enzymes, one would convert dNTPs to ddNTPs, and the second would do the reverse... How about other enzymes that would be good candidates for site-directed mutagenesis to accomplish this?

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Nathan McCorkle
Rochester Institute of Technology
College of Science, Biotechnology/Bioinformatics

[Eric Zhang]

Can't help you there, but if you found one, I'm thinking it wouldn't be hard to 'find' the other one.

[Nathan McCorkle]

well I am not sure yet about the reason for the naming conventions, I may not fully understand the enzyme yet... but 3 pages into the nucleic acids chapter in "biochemistry and molecular biology of plants", and it mentions the enzyme which takes NTPs to dNTPs... ribonucleotide reductase... why the heck isn't it called ribonucleotide 2-dehydroxylase???

[Eric Zhang]

Wikipedia says that the enzyme (RNR) is unique in that it catalyzes a reaction that proceeds via free radical mechanism.  Perhaps that is why it is named reductase.

[Thomas Knight]

There is no consistency in enzyme names. You'll just have to deal
with that. Pubmed knows about many of the equivalences, and the GO
ontology tries to standardize. You should look at the enzyme
commission (EC) numbers as well.

[Hemin Nasraden]

I would like to know that too.. chemical synthesis is may hold the key, not enzymatic reactions..

[Mega [Andreas Stuermer]]

>There is no consistency in enzyme names.  You'll just have to deal   
with that.  Pubmed knows about many of the equivalences, and the GO   
ontology tries to standardize.  You should look at the enzyme   
commission (EC) numbers as well. 

Yeah, I'm totally for re-naming all the enzymes and sugars and biochemical stuff. So you don't have to learn the names, because the name already tells you what it does. 

Like MAP kinase kinase kinase   -----phosphoryllates----- map kinase kinase ----pp.lates-> map kinase :D 

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