Enzyme Commission Number - Format of Number

Format of Number

Every enzyme code consists of the letters "EC" followed by four numbers separated by periods. Those numbers represent a progressively finer classification of the enzyme.

For example, the tripeptide aminopeptidases have the code "EC 3.4.11.4", whose components indicate the following groups of enzymes:

  • EC 3 enzymes are hydrolases (enzymes that use water to break up some other molecule)
  • EC 3.4 are hydrolases that act on peptide bonds
  • EC 3.4.11 are those hydrolases that cleave off the amino-terminal amino acid from a polypeptide
  • EC 3.4.11.4 are those that cleave off the amino-terminal end from a tripeptide

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