title: DNA helicases: enzymes with essential roles in all aspects of DNA metabolism.
abstract: DNA helicases catalyze the disruption of the hydrogen bonds that hold the two strands of double-stranded DNA together. This energy-requiring unwinding reaction results in the formation of the single-stranded DNA required as a template or reaction intermediate in DNA replication, repair and recombination. A combination of biochemical and genetic studies have been used to probe and define the roles of the multiple DNA helicases found in E. coli. This work and similar efforts in eukaryotic cells, although far from complete, have established that DNA helicases are essential components of the machinery that interacts with the DNA molecule.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 27599.
authors.forename: S W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Matson
authors.forename: D W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Bean
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: George
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D004265:DNA Helicases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D004260:DNA Repair; D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D005800:Genes, Fungal; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D008322:Mammals; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D013014:SOS Response, Genetics; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000201:enzymology
chemical_list: D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded; D004247:DNA; D004265:DNA Helicases