Helicases involved in genomic maintenance are a class of nucleic-acid dependent ATPases that convert the energy of ATP hydrolysis into physical work to execute irreversible steps in DNA replication, repair, and recombination. Prokaryotic helicases provide simple models to understand broadly conserved molecular mechanisms involved in manipulating nucleic acids during genome maintenance. Our understanding of the catalytic properties, mechanisms of regulation, and roles of prokaryotic helicases in DNA metabolism has been assembled through a combination of genetic, biochemical, and structural methods, further refined by single-molecule approaches. Together, these investigations have constructed a framework for understanding the mechanisms that maintain genomic integrity in cells. This review discusses recent single-molecule insights into molecular mechanisms of prokaryotic helicases and translocases.

参与基因组维护的解旋酶是一类核酸依赖性 ATP 酶，可将 ATP 水解的能量转化为物理功，以执行 DNA 复制、修复和重组中的不可逆步骤。原核解旋酶提供了简单的模型来理解在基因组维护过程中操纵核酸所涉及的广泛保守的分子机制。我们对原核生物解旋酶在 DNA 代谢中的催化特性、调节机制和作用的理解是通过遗传、生物化学和结构方法的组合，并通过单分子方法进一步完善的。这些研究共同构建了一个框架，用于理解维持细胞基因组完整性的机制。