<Tr> <Th> PubMed </Th> <Td> articles </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> NCBI </Th> <Td> proteins </Td> </Tr> <P> Helicases are a class of enzymes vital to all living organisms . Their main function is to unpackage an organism's genes . They are motor proteins that move directionally along a nucleic acid phosphodiester backbone, separating two annealed nucleic acid strands (i.e., DNA, RNA, or RNA - DNA hybrid) using energy derived from ATP hydrolysis . There are many helicases resulting from the great variety of processes in which strand separation must be catalyzed . Approximately 1% of eukaryotic genes code for helicases . The human genome codes for 95 non-redundant helicases: 64 RNA helicases and 31 DNA helicases . Many cellular processes, such as DNA replication, transcription, translation, recombination, DNA repair, and ribosome biogenesis involve the separation of nucleic acid strands that necessitates the use of helicases . </P> <P> Helicases are often used to separate strands of a DNA double helix or a self - annealed RNA molecule using the energy from ATP hydrolysis, a process characterized by the breaking of hydrogen bonds between annealed nucleotide bases . They also function to remove nucleic acid - associated proteins and catalyze homologous DNA recombination . Metabolic processes of RNA such as translation, transcription, ribosome biogenesis, RNA splicing, RNA transport, RNA editing, and RNA degradation are all facilitated by helicases . Helicases move incrementally along one nucleic acid strand of the duplex with a directionality and processivity specific to each particular enzyme . </P>

Where does helicase separate the strands of dna