Crystal structure of superfamily 2 helicase Hel308 in complex with unwound DNA

File:2p6r.gif


2p6r, resolution 3.000Å

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OverviewOverview

To reveal the mechanism of processive strand separation by superfamily-2 (SF2) 3'-->5' helicases, we determined apo and DNA-bound crystal structures of archaeal Hel308, a helicase that unwinds lagging strands and is related to human DNA polymerase theta. Our structure captures the duplex-unwinding reaction, shows that initial strand separation does not require ATP and identifies a prominent beta-hairpin loop as the unwinding element. Similar loops in hepatitis C virus NS3 helicase and RNA-decay factors support the idea that this duplex-unwinding mechanism is applicable to a broad subset of SF2 helicases. Comparison with ATP-bound SF2 enzymes suggests that ATP promotes processive unwinding of 1 base pair by ratchet-like transport of the 3' product strand. Our results provide a first structural framework for strand separation by processive SF2 3'-->5' helicases and reveal important mechanistic differences from SF1 helicases.

About this StructureAbout this Structure

2P6R is a Protein complex structure of sequences from Archaeoglobus fulgidus. Full crystallographic information is available from OCA.

ReferenceReference

Structural basis for DNA duplex separation by a superfamily-2 helicase., Buttner K, Nehring S, Hopfner KP, Nat Struct Mol Biol. 2007 Jul;14(7):647-52. Epub 2007 Jun 10. PMID:17558417

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