Snf2-like chromatin remodelers are a family of helicase-like proteins that direct energy derived from ATP hydrolysis into the mechanical remodelling of chromatin structure. They are so-called due to the presence of a domain homologous to the helicase-like ATPase domain of the S. cerevisiae Snf2 protein. This domain, the Snf2 domain, consists of two tandem RecA-like folds and contains seven conserved helicase-related sequence motifs that classify it as part of the helicase superfamily 2 (SF2). However, Snf2 proteins are not bona fide helicases, lacking the ability to separate nucleic acid strands. Instead, Snf2 proteins are DNA translocases that apply an ATP-dependent torsional strain to DNA, which provides the necessary force to remodel nucleosomes or in some cases other DNA-protein complexes. (Adapted from PMID:21862382.)