ATP-dependent DNA helicase implicated in DNA repair and the maintenance of genomic stability. Acts as an anti-recombinase to counteract toxic recombination and limit crossover during meiosis. Regulates meiotic recombination and crossover homeostasis by physically dissociating strand invasion events and thereby promotes noncrossover repair by meiotic synthesis dependent strand annealing (SDSA) as well as disassembly of D loop recombination intermediates. ATP + H2O = ADP + H(+) + phosphate Viable, although the brood size is reduced and the life cycle is retarded (at 20 degrees Celsius, worms take 24 hours longer to reach the gravid adult stage). The smaller brood size may result from replicative stress, which is often associated with a persistence of unrepaired DNA damage during development. Mutants show defective crossover interference with all double-strand breaks becoming crossovers and a compromised homeostasis after ionizing radiation. Synthetic lethality in worms lacking both rtel-1 and him-6, with a marked increase in the number of foci representing unresolved recombination intermediates. Belongs to the helicase family. RAD3/XPD subfamily.