Catalysis of a DNA topological transformation by transiently cleaving one DNA strand at a time to allow passage of another strand; changes the linking number by +1 per catalytic cycle.
Comment:
Note that a further distinction, between type IA and type IB topoisomerases, is based on sequence or structural similarity between gene products that possess type I catalytic activity.
Synonyms:
exact_synonym:
type I DNA topoisomerase activity; type I topoisomerase activity