ligase ubiquitin ligase A role played by the entity that catalyses the transfer of ubiquitin to a substrate protein via the reaction X-ubiquitin + S -> X + S-ubiquitin, where X is either an E2 or E3 enzyme, the X-ubiquitin linkage is a thioester bond, and the S-ubiquitin linkage is an amide bond: an isopeptide bond between the C-terminal glycine of ubiquitin and the epsilon-amino group of lysine residues in the substrate or, in the linear extension of ubiquitin chains, a peptide bond the between the C-terminal glycine and N-terminal methionine of ubiquitin residues. GO:0004842