Nomenclature of Enzymes

Most enzymes are named according to the substrate they act on, with the name ending in the suffix '-ase'. For example, lactase is the enzyme that hydrolyses lactose, and amylase is the enzyme that hydrolyses amylose (starch). This naming convention makes it easy to guess an unfamiliar enzyme's substrate directly from its name. However, a number of enzymes were named long before this systematic convention became standard, and their historical names give no clue to their function or substrate - examples mentioned in the text include renin and **tr …