Abstact

SWI2/SNF2 chromatin-remodeling proteins mediate the mobilization of nucleosomes and other DNA-associated proteins. SWI2/SNF2 proteins contain sequence motifs characteristic of SF2 helicases but do not have helicase activity. Instead, they couple ATP hydrolysis with the generation of superhelical torsion in DNA. The structure of the nucleosome-remodeling domain of zebrafish Rad54, a protein involved in Rad51-mediated homologous recombination, reveals that the core of the SWI2/SNF2 enzymes consist of two alpha/beta-lobes similar to SF2 helicases. The Rad54 helicase lobes contain insertions that form two helical domains, one within each lobe. These insertions contain SWI2/SNF2-specific sequence motifs likely to be central to SWI2/SNF2 function. A broad cleft formed by the two lobes and flanked by the helical insertions contains residues conserved in SWI2/SNF2 proteins and motifs implicated in DNA-binding by SF2 helicases. The Rad54 structure suggests that SWI2/SNF2 proteins use a mechanism analogous to helicases to translocate on dsDNA.