Lyase

A lyase is an enzyme which can break down covalent bonds, often creating new double bonds.

Like all enzymes, lyases are proteins which have an active site for the enzyme reaction and a target molecule recognition site which makes the reaction specific.

Lyases catalyse the breaking of covalent bonds other than by hydrolysis or oxidation. They often therefore form double bonds or cyclical molecules.

There are many types of lyase depending on the bonds which they catalyse and the substrate which they target. They therefore have roles in many cell processes.

One of the best known is adenylate cyclase, the enzyme which forms cyclic AMP from ATP.