Duplex unwinding and RNP remodeling with RNA helicases.

RNA helicases are essential for the adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP)-driven rearrangement of many RNAs and RNA-protein complexes (ribonucleoproteins, RNPs) throughout RNA metabolism. We describe assays to measure RNA and RNP remodeling by RNA helicases in vitro. We show how to prepare substrates for these reactions and how to monitor unwinding of RNA duplexes and displacement of proteins from RNA using standard molecular biology techniques.