title: Helicase-catalyzed DNA unwinding: energy coupling by DNA motor proteins.
abstract: DNA helicases catalyze the unwinding of double-stranded (ds) DNA to yield the single-stranded (ss) DNA intermediates required in DNA replication, recombination, and repair. DNA helicases couple the free energy of nucleoside triphosphate (NTP) binding and hydrolysis to separate the two complementary DNA strands while also translocating vectorially along the DNA substrate. As such, helicases are functionally DNA motor proteins. The functional form of helicases generally appears to be oligomeric (usually dimers or hexamers), which provides the helicase with multiple DNA binding sites that are required for translocation and DNA unwinding. The affinity of ss- versus dsDNA for these multiple DNA binding sites is modulated allosterically by NTP binding, hydrolysis, and product release, which is central to helicase-catalyzed DNA unwinding. The mechanistic details of the DNA unwinding, translocation, and NTPase reactions are only starting to emerge. We discuss energy coupling by DNA helicases in general, and by the dimeric E. coli Rep helicase in particular, focusing on the similarities of these enzymes to classical motor proteins.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110, USA.
authors.forename: K J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.forename: T M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Lohman
mesh_terms: D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000378:metabolism; D001665:Binding Sites; D055592:Biophysical Phenomena; D001703:Biophysics; D004265:DNA Helicases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000378:metabolism; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D006868:Hydrolysis; D007700:Kinetics; D008954:Models, Biological; D015394:Molecular Structure; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D011487:Protein Conformation; D013816:Thermodynamics; D062367:ortho-Aminobenzoates / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D062367:ortho-Aminobenzoates; C506744:rep protein, E coli; C045473:3'-O-(N-methylanthraniloyl) ATP; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate; D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases; D004265:DNA Helicases