A core enzyme consists of the subunits of an enzyme that are needed for catalytic activity, as in the core enzyme RNA polymerase.
An example of a core enzyme is a RNA polymerase enzyme without the sigma factor (σ). This enzyme consists of only two alpha (2α), one beta (β) and one beta prime (β'). This is just one example of a core enzyme. DNA Pol I can also be characterized as having core and holoenzyme segments, where the 5'exonuclease can be removed without destroying enzyme functionality.
Famous quotes containing the word core:
“The threadbare trees, so poor and thin,
They are no wealthier than I;
But with as brave a core within
They rear their boughs to the October sky.
Poor knights they are which bravely wait
The charge of Winter’s cavalry,
Keeping a simple Roman state,
Discumbered of their Persian luxury.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)