Unwinding of a DNA replication fork by a hexameric viral helicase.

Nat Commun

Department of Biological Sciences, Birkbeck College, Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, Malet Street, London, WC1E 7HX, UK.

Published: September 2021

Hexameric helicases are motor proteins that unwind double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) during DNA replication but how they are optimised for strand separation is unclear. Here we present the cryo-EM structure of the full-length E1 helicase from papillomavirus, revealing all arms of a bound DNA replication fork and their interactions with the helicase. The replication fork junction is located at the entrance to the helicase collar ring, that sits above the AAA + motor assembly. dsDNA is escorted to and the 5´ single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) away from the unwinding point by the E1 dsDNA origin binding domains. The 3´ ssDNA interacts with six spirally-arranged β-hairpins and their cyclical top-to-bottom movement pulls the ssDNA through the helicase. Pulling of the RF against the collar ring separates the base-pairs, while modelling of the conformational cycle suggest an accompanying movement of the collar ring has an auxiliary role, helping to make efficient use of ATP in duplex unwinding.

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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8452682PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-25843-6DOI Listing

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