Oxidase

An oxidase is any enzyme that catalyzes an oxidation/reduction reaction involving molecular oxygen (O₂) as the electron acceptor. In these reactions, oxygen is reduced to water (H₂O) or hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂).

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The oxidase are a subclass of the oxidoreductases.

Examples

An important example is cytochrome c oxidase, the key enzyme that allows the body to employ oxygen in the generation of energy and the final component of the electron transfer chain. Other examples are:

• glucose oxidase
• monoamine oxidase
• cytochrome P450 oxidase
• NADPH oxidase
• Xanthine oxidase
• L-gulonolactone oxidase
• laccase
• lysyl oxidase

Oxidase test

In microbiology, the oxidase test is used as a phenotypic character for the identification of bacterial strains; it determines whether a given bacterium produces cytochrome oxidases (and therefore utilizes oxygen with an electron transfer chain).

Bacteria that can or must utilize oxygen are called (facultative) aerobic bacteria.

• MeSH Oxidase