Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

DNA Helicases00:55

DNA Helicases

21.4K
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...
21.4K
DNA Topoisomerases02:02

DNA Topoisomerases

31.4K
Topoisomerases are enzymes that relax overwound DNA molecules during various cell processes, including DNA replication and transcription. These enzymes regulate positive and negative DNA supercoiling without changing the nucleotide sequence. DNA overwinding in a clockwise direction results in positively supercoiled DNA, whereas underwinding in a counterclockwise direction produces negatively supercoiled DNA.
Types and Mechanism of action
Topoisomerases are divided into two main types. ...
31.4K
Conservative Site-specific Recombination and Phase Variation02:53

Conservative Site-specific Recombination and Phase Variation

6.0K
Because the DNA segments are cut and reorganized in a direction-specific manner, site-specific recombination has emerged as an efficient genetic engineering technique. Flippase and Cyclization recombinases or Flp and Cre, respectively, are two members of the tyrosine recombinase family derived from bacteriophages, that are used to mediate site-specific DNA insertions, deletions, and targeted expression of proteins in mammalian cell lines.
The recognition sites for Cre recombinase called LoxP...
6.0K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Cellular replisomes are powered by flex-fuel motors for unwinding DNA.

Nature communications·2026
Same author

Cohesin activity accelerates the homology search.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026
Same author

Searching for sequence features that control DNA cyclizability.

PNAS nexus·2026
Same author

Rapid functional classification of cardiac genetic variants directly informs precision cardiology.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026
Same author

Multivalent weak contacts shape chaperone-nascent protein interactions.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026
Same author

Base-pair scale dynamics of a repair helicase on DNA lesions reveal varied damage-sensing mechanisms.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 16, 2025

Spatiotemporal Control of Protein Activity through Optogenetic Allosteric Regulation
08:00

Spatiotemporal Control of Protein Activity through Optogenetic Allosteric Regulation

Published on: October 4, 2024

616

Helicase Activity Modulation with On-Demand Light-Based Conformational Control.

Dmitriy Bobrovnikov1, Monika A Makurath2,3, Clara H Wolfe1

  • 1Department of Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, United States.

Journal of the American Chemical Society
|September 22, 2023
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Researchers engineered novel DNA helicases with light-controlled activity. These "opto-helicases" switch between inactive and active states using light, offering precise control over DNA unwinding for future applications.

More Related Videos

Light-mediated Reversible Modulation of the Mitogen-activated Protein Kinase Pathway during Cell Differentiation and Xenopus Embryonic Development
09:32

Light-mediated Reversible Modulation of the Mitogen-activated Protein Kinase Pathway during Cell Differentiation and Xenopus Embryonic Development

Published on: June 15, 2017

8.8K
Chemical Dimerization-Induced Protein Condensates on Telomeres
08:52

Chemical Dimerization-Induced Protein Condensates on Telomeres

Published on: April 12, 2021

3.2K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 16, 2025

Spatiotemporal Control of Protein Activity through Optogenetic Allosteric Regulation
08:00

Spatiotemporal Control of Protein Activity through Optogenetic Allosteric Regulation

Published on: October 4, 2024

616
Light-mediated Reversible Modulation of the Mitogen-activated Protein Kinase Pathway during Cell Differentiation and Xenopus Embryonic Development
09:32

Light-mediated Reversible Modulation of the Mitogen-activated Protein Kinase Pathway during Cell Differentiation and Xenopus Embryonic Development

Published on: June 15, 2017

8.8K
Chemical Dimerization-Induced Protein Condensates on Telomeres
08:52

Chemical Dimerization-Induced Protein Condensates on Telomeres

Published on: April 12, 2021

3.2K

Area of Science:

  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Biology
  • Protein Engineering

Background:

  • Protein engineering requires understanding structure-function relationships.
  • DNA helicases are crucial enzymes in DNA metabolism.
  • Controlling protein activity with external stimuli is a key challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To engineer novel DNA helicases with light-inducible activity.
  • To achieve spatiotemporal control over DNA unwinding.
  • To explore the potential of optogenetics in enzyme regulation.

Main Methods:

  • Structural analysis of DNA helicase regulatory subdomains.
  • Protein engineering of novel helicase variants.
  • Incorporation of azobenzene-based crosslinkers for light-induced isomerization.
  • Characterization using bulk biochemical assays and single-molecule optical tweezers.

Main Results:

  • Engineered helicases exhibit light-dependent conformational changes.
  • Azobenzene crosslinker isomerization switches helicase activity between inactive and active states.
  • Demonstrated on-demand control of DNA unwinding using light.
  • Single-molecule analysis confirmed light-modulated helicase function.

Conclusions:

  • Developed light-switchable DNA helicases ('opto-helicases').
  • Achieved precise spatiotemporal control over DNA hybridization states.
  • Opto-helicases hold promise for applications requiring dynamic control of nucleic acid interactions.