Structure and Function of Helicases in Archaea the Third Domain of Life

Abstract Helicases in prokaryotes play important roles in various pathways including DNA replication, recombination and repair, and defense against virus and plasmid invasion via CRISPR-Cas system. Much progress has been made in the past two decades. In this chapter, we will review the status of research on helicases in Archaea, focusing on progress in the structural and function analysis of well-known proteins such as MCM and newly identified helicases including HerA, Hjm(Hel308a), PINA, and Cas3, and complexes of some of these proteins.