Escherichia coli RecBC helicase has two translocase activities controlled by a single ATPase motor

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Abstract

E. coli RecBCD is a DNA helicase with two ATPase motors (RecB, a 3′→5′ translocase, and RecD, a 5′→3′ translocase) that function in repair of double-stranded DNA breaks. The RecBC heterodimer, with only the RecB motor, remains a processive helicase. Here we examined RecBC translocation along single-stranded DNA (ssDNA). Notably, we found RecBC to have two translocase activities: the primary translocase moves 3′→5′, whereas the secondary translocase moves RecBC along the opposite strand of a forked DNA at a similar rate. The secondary translocase is insensitive to the ssDNA backbone polarity, and we propose that it may fuel RecBCD translocation along double-stranded DNA ahead of the unwinding fork and ensure that the unwound single strands move through RecBCD at the same rate after interaction with a crossover hot-spot indicator (Chi) sequence.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1210-1217
Number of pages8
JournalNature Structural and Molecular Biology
Volume17
Issue number10
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2010

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