Summary Hexameric helicases couple ATP hydrolysis to processive separation of nucleic acid duplexes, a process critical for gene expression, DNA replication and repair. All hexameric helicases fall into two families with opposing translocation polarities: the 3’→5’ AAA+ and 5’→3’ RecA-like enzymes. To understand how a RecA-like hexameric helicase engages and translocates along substrate, we determined the structure of the E. coli Rho transcription termination factor bound to RNA and nucleotide. Interior nucleic-acid binding elements spiral around six bases of RNA in a manner unexpectedly reminiscent of an AAA+ helicase, the papillomavirus E1 protein. Four distinct ATP-binding states, representing potential catalytic intermediates, are coupled to RNA positioning through a complex allosteric network. Comparative studies with E1 suggest that RecA and AAA+ hexameric helicases use different portions of their chemomechanical cycle for translocating nucleic acid, and track in opposite directions by reversing the firing order of ATPase sites around the hexameric ring.

Superfamily 1 (SF1) and superfamily 2 (SF2) RNA helicases are ubiquitous mRNA-protein (mRNP) remodelling enzymes that play critical roles in all aspects of RNA metabolism1, 2. The SF2 DEAD-box ATPase Dbp5/Ddx19 functions in mRNA export and is thought to remodel mRNPs at the nuclear pore complex (NPC)3–8. Dbp5 is localized to the NPC via an interaction with Nup159/Nup2143–5, 8, 9 and is locally activated there by Gle1 together with the small-molecule inositol hexakisphosphate (IP6) 10, 11. Local activation of Dbp5 at the NPC by Gle1 is essential for mRNA export in vivo11, 12; however, the mechanistic role of Dbp5 in mRNP export is poorly understood and it is not known how Gle1IP6 and Nup159 regulate the activity of Dbp5. Here we report structures of Dbp5 in complex with Gle1IP6, Nup159/Gle1IP6, and RNA. These structures reveal that IP6 functions as a small-molecule tether for the Gle1-Dbp5 interaction. Surprisingly, the Gle1IP6-Dbp5 complex is structurally similar to another DEAD-box ATPase complex essential for translation initiation, eIF4G-eIF4A, and we demonstrate that Gle1IP6 and eIF4G both activate their DEAD-box partner by stimulating RNA release. Furthermore, Gle1IP6 relieves Dbp5 auto- regulation and cooperates with Nup159 in stabilizing an open Dbp5-intermediate that precludes RNA binding. These findings explain how Gle1IP6, Nup159, and Dbp5 collaborate in mRNA export and provide a general mechanism for DEAD-box ATPase regulation by Gle1/eIF4G-like activators.