Biology / Unit 6 Bio 1217 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Helicase
Captions available
The idea
Helicase is the enzyme that unwinds DNA's double helix at a replication fork by breaking the hydrogen bonds between paired bases.
In practice
Helicase uses energy from ATP hydrolysis to separate the two strands, exposing each as a single-stranded template.
Where people slip
Helicase breaks hydrogen bonds between bases, not the covalent bonds of either strand's sugar-phosphate backbone.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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