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DNA Helicases

DNA Helicases

DNA unwinding helicase enzymes are a type of motor protein. Motor proteins can translocate along filaments or polymers using energy generated from ATP hydrolysis. Helicases are involved in all the important cellular processes where DNA unwinding is required, such as DNA replication, repair, recombination, and transcription. They are present in all living organisms, but vary in their structure, function, and mechanism of action. For example, in prokaryotes, DnaB helicase binds and translocates...

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Homologous Recombination

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The basic reaction of homologous recombination (HR) involves two chromatids that contain DNA sequences sharing a significant stretch of identity. One of these sequences uses a strand from another as a template to synthesize DNA in an enzyme-catalyzed reaction. The final product is a novel amalgamation of the two substrates. To ensure an accurate recombination of sequences, HR is restricted to the S and G2 phases of the cell cycle. At these stages, the DNA has been replicated already and the...

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Mismatch Repair

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 15, 2026

Hybrid Ensemble and Single-molecule Assay to Image the Motion of Fully Reconstituted CMG

Hybrid Ensemble and Single-molecule Assay to Image the Motion of Fully Reconstituted CMG

Published on: July 26, 2024

Protein displacement by helicases.

Laxmi Yeruva¹, Kevin D Raney

¹Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA.

Methods in Molecular Biology (Clifton, N.J.)

|March 13, 2010

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

DNA and RNA helicases are essential motor proteins that unwind nucleic acids. This study details methods to investigate how helicases displace other proteins during this process, crucial for DNA metabolism and preventing disease.

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Area of Science:

Biochemistry
Molecular Biology
Genetics

Background:

Helicases are vital motor proteins that translocate along DNA and RNA, utilizing ATP hydrolysis to unwind nucleic acids.
This unwinding generates single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) intermediates essential for DNA replication, recombination, and repair.
Defects in DNA helicases are linked to severe genetic disorders, including xeroderma pigmentosum, Cockayne's syndrome, Bloom's syndrome, and Werner's syndrome.

Purpose of the Study:

To describe various methodologies for studying the interaction between DNA and RNA helicases and other nucleic acid-bound proteins.
To elucidate the mechanisms by which helicases displace proteins during nucleic acid unwinding.

Main Methods:

The report outlines diverse experimental approaches to observe and quantify protein displacement by helicases.
Methods may include in vitro biochemical assays, single-molecule techniques, and in vivo studies.

Main Results:

Helicases can encounter and interact with other proteins while moving along nucleic acids.
These interactions can lead to the displacement of proteins from the nucleic acid or the dissociation of the helicase itself.
The described methods allow for detailed analysis of these collision dynamics.

Conclusions:

Understanding helicase-mediated protein displacement is critical for comprehending DNA metabolism and the etiology of associated diseases.
The presented methods provide valuable tools for further research into helicase function and dysfunction.