Type II topoisomerases cut both strands of the DNA helix simultaneously in order to manage DNA tangles and supercoils. They use the hydrolysis of ATP, unlike Type I topoisomerase. In this process, these enzymes change the linking number of circular DNA by ±2.

Once cut, the ends of the DNA are separated, and a second DNA duplex is passed through the break. Following passage, the cut DNA is religated. This reaction allows type II topoisomerases to increase or decrease the linking number of a DNA loop by 2 units, and it promotes chromosome disentanglement. Reactions involving the increase in supercoiling require two molecules of ATP. For example, DNA gyrase, a type II topoisomerase observed in E. coli and most other prokaryotes, introduces negative supercoils and decreases the linking number by 2. Gyrase is also able to remove knots from the bacterial chromosome. Along with gyrase, most prokaryotes also contain a second type IIA topoisomerase, termed topoisomerase IV. Gyrase and topoisomerase IV differ by their C-terminal domains, which is believed to dictate substrate specificity and functionality for these two enzymes. Footprinting indicates that gyrase, which forms a 140-base-pair footprint and wraps DNA, introduces negative supercoils, while topoisomerase IV, which forms a 28-base-pair footprint, does not wrap DNA.

Eukaryotic type II topoisomerase cannot introduce supercoils; it can only relax them.

The roles of type IIB topoisomerases are less understood. Unlike type IIA topoisomerases, type IIB topoisomerases cannot simplify DNA topology (see below), but they share several structural features with type IIA topoisomerases.

Type IIA topoisomerases are essential in the separation of entangled daughter strands during replication. This function is believed to be performed by topoisomerase II in eukaryotes and by topoisomerase IV in prokaryotes. Failure to separate these strands leads to cell death. Type IIA topoisomerases have the special ability to relax DNA to a state below that of thermodynamic equilibrium, a feature unlike type IA, IB, and IIB topoisomerases. This ability, known as topology simplification, was first identified by Rybenkov et al. (Science 1997). The hydrolysis of ATP drives this simplification, but a clear molecular mechanism for this simplification is still lacking. Several models to explain this phenomenon have been proposed, including two models that rely on the ability of type IIA topoisomerases to recognize bent DNA duplexes (Vologodskiy, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 1999). Biochemistry, electron microscopy, and recent structures of topoisomerase II bound to DNA reveal that type IIA topoisomerases bind at the apices of DNA, supporting this model.

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