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Updated: Aug 6, 2026

Self-assembly of Complex Two-dimensional Shapes from Single-stranded DNA Tiles
Published on: May 8, 2015
Double-stranded DNA translocation: structure and mechanism of hexameric FtsK
Thomas H Massey1, Christopher P Mercogliano, James Yates
1Division of Molecular Genetics, Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QU, United Kingdom.
Abstract:
FtsK is a DNA translocase that coordinates chromosome segregation and cell division in bacteria. In addition to its role as activator of XerCD site-specific recombination, FtsK can translocate double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) rapidly and directionally and reverse direction. We present crystal structures of the FtsK motor domain monomer, showing that it has a RecA-like core, the FtsK hexamer, and also showing that it is a ring with a large central annulus and a dodecamer consisting of two hexamers, head to head. Electron microscopy (EM) demonstrates the DNA-dependent existence of hexamers in solution and shows that duplex DNA passes through the middle of each ring. Comparison of FtsK monomer structures from two different crystal forms highlights a conformational change that we propose is the structural basis for a rotary inchworm mechanism of DNA translocation.
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