Crystal structures of aprataxin ortholog Hnt3 reveal the mechanism for reversal of 5′-adenylated DNA

Aprataxin is a DNA deadenylase that processes DNA molecules with 5'-AMP termini that result from abortive ligation reactions. The crystal structures of the Schizosaccharomyces pombe ortholog Hnt3 in its apo state, bound to DNA or DNA and AMP, provide insight into how this enzyme recognizes and processes its substrate.