Preface ........................................................ ix
1 An Insuperable Problem ....................................... 1
2 Nature's Solutions: The DNA Topoisomerases .................. 15
3 Breaking a DNA Strand and Holding on to the Broken Ends ..... 31
4 A Magic Swivel .............................................. 55
5 Moving One DNA Double Helix through Another.................. 71
6 Real-Time Viewing of the DNA Topoisomerases in Action ...... 101
7 Manifestations of DNA Entanglement: Replication and
Recombination .............................................. 123
8 Manifestations of DNA Entanglement: Gene Expression ........ 149
9 Beyond DNA Entanglement: New Twists on an Old Theme ........ 165
10 From Nature's Battlefields to the Clinical Wards ........... 185
Appendix I
Identification of the Covalent Intermediates in
Topoisomerase-Catalyzed Reactions ............................. 211
Appendix 2
Catalysis of DNA Breakage and Rejoining by DNA
Topoisomerases ................................................ 217
Index ......................................................... 223
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