Question

The specificity of an enzyme is affected by the concentration of buffer used. This phenomenon is termed as:

(a) star activity

(b) specificity elevation

(c) concentration gradient effects

(d) diamond activity

This question was addressed to me in an online interview.

This interesting question is from Restriction Endonuclease & Phosphatases in portion Basics of Genetic Engineering of Genetic Engineering

Answer 1

The correct option is (a) star activity

The explanation is: As concentration of buffer is varied, the specificity of an enzyme is lost and this phenomenon is termed as star activity. By loss of specificity we mean that, instead of a particular sequence, a particular set of sequences can be identified.