DNA Recombination and Repair—A New Twist to RecA Function
Molecular motors harness the energy of ATP (or GTP, a related energy currency) and transform it into mechanical force. Well-known examples of motors include myosin and dynein, proteins that use ATP to ferry intracellular cargo along fibers made of actin or tubulin proteins. The ATP-dependent assembly of actin or tubulin fibers itself can work as a motor: for instance, the march of white blood cel...Recombination protein dynamics observed with single monomer resolution
Using a sensitive, single-molecule measurement technique, researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have observed the life cycle of RecA, a protein that plays a major role in repairing damaged DNA. RecA is a DN...