Definition of "invertase" [in•vert•ase]

• An enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of sucrose into glucose and fructose. Also called saccharase, sucrase. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The bees use an enzyme called invertase to chop it up into the two smaller sugars, one of which, by the way, tastes sweeter than sucrose."
• "To do so, they must secrete an enzyme called invertase, which breaks sucrose into smaller sugars that the yeast can absorb."
• "According to the researchers, the GIF1 gene is responsible for controlling the activity of the enzyme invertase, which is located in the rice plant's cell walls and converts sucrose to substances that are then used to create starch."