The EMBO Journal Vol. 22 No. 19 pp. 4910±4921, 2003 High-resolution structure of the E.coli RecQ helicase catalytic core Douglas A.Bernstein, Morgan C.Zittel and repair replication forks that have stalled at sites of DNA James L.Keck1 damage (Courcelle et al., 1997; Courcelle and Hanawalt, 1999; Courcelle et al., 1999; 2003). In addition, E.coli Department of Biomolecular Chemistry, 550 Medical Science Center, 1300 University Avenue, University of Wisconsin Medical School, RecQ helps suppress illegitimate recombination in cells Madison, WI 53706-1532, USA (Hanada et al., 1997). Although the precise cellular substrates on which RecQ proteins act remain a mystery, 1Corresponding author e-mail:
[email protected] several reactions catalyzed by E.coli RecQ have been reconstituted in vitro, including ATP-dependent DNA RecQ family helicases catalyze critical genome main- unwinding (Umezu et al., 1990), recombination initiation tenance reactions in bacterial and eukaryotic cells, with RecA and single-stranded (ss) DNA binding protein playing key roles in several DNA metabolic processes. (SSB) (Harmon and Kowalczykowski, 1998), and plasmid Mutations in recQ genes are linked to genome instabil- DNA catenation with topoisomerase III (Topo III) and ity and human disease. To de®ne the physical basis of SSB (Harmon et al., 1999). Coordinated activities with RecQ enzyme function, we have determined a 1.8 AÊ recombinases and topoisomerases, as well as DNA resolution crystal structure of the catalytic core of unwinding functions, are conserved in a number of Escherichia coli RecQ in its unbound form and a 2.5 AÊ eukaryotic RecQ proteins (reviewed in Wu and Hickson, resolution structure of the core bound to the ATP 2001), implying a functional homology among RecQ analog ATPgS.