Review

Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology 7, 580-588 (August 2006) | doi:10.1038/nrm1982

Giant proteins that move DNA: bullies of the genomic playground

Nicholas R. Cozzarelli1,2, Gregory J. Cost1, Marcelo Nöllmann1, Thierry Viard1 & James E. Stray1  About the authors

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As genetic material DNA is wonderful, but as a macromolecule it is unruly, voluminous and fragile. Without the action of DNA replicases, topoisomerases, helicases, translocases and recombinases, the genome would collapse into a topologically entangled random coil that would be useless to the cell. We discuss the organization, movement and energetics of these proteins that are crucial to the preservation of a molecule that has such beautiful biological but challenging physical properties.

Author affiliations

  1. 16 Barker Hall, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720-3204, USA.
  2. in memoriam

Correspondence to: Gregory J. Cost1 Email: gregcost@berkeley.edu

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