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FtsK: a groovy helicase

Nature Structural & Molecular Biology volume 13, pages 948–950 (2006)Cite this article

A Corrigendum to this article was published on 01 June 2007

Recent additions to the helicase family include motor proteins that do not actually unwind DNA, but rather translocate it. By sensing short polar sequences that orient the bacterial chromosome, the FtsK helicase translocates DNA so as to align the termini of replicated chromosomes with each other, facilitating the late stages of chromosome segregation.

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Figure 1: Single-molecule FtsKC assay.
Figure 2: Rectified rotary inchworm model of DNA translocation by FtsKC.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. the Biomolecular Nanomanipulation Laboratory, Institut Jacques Monod, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 2 Place Jussieu, Paris, 75251 Cedex 05, France

    Terence R Strick & Audrey Quessada-Vial

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  1. Terence R Strick
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  2. Audrey Quessada-Vial
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Strick, T., Quessada-Vial, A. FtsK: a groovy helicase. Nat Struct Mol Biol 13, 948–950 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/nsmb1106-948

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