Relaxase

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Relaxase is an enzyme in prokaryotes that is involved bacterial conjugation. It forms part of the relaxosome multi-protein complex that nicks double-stranded DNA at the origin of transfer on a bacterial plasmid.

Relaxases are encoded by different (but similar) genes in different bacterial conjugation systems. They may be known as TraI (in the RP4 system), VirD4 (pTiA6), TrwC (R388), TraI (F), MobB (CloDF13) or TrsK (pGO1).