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Direct imaging of the circular chromosome in a live bacterium

Author

Listed:
  • Fabai Wu

    (Delft University of Technology
    California Institute of Technology)

  • Aleksandre Japaridze

    (Delft University of Technology)

  • Xuan Zheng

    (Delft University of Technology)

  • Jakub Wiktor

    (Delft University of Technology)

  • Jacob W. J. Kerssemakers

    (Delft University of Technology)

  • Cees Dekker

    (Delft University of Technology)

Abstract

Although the physical properties of chromosomes, including their morphology, mechanics, and dynamics are crucial for their biological function, many basic questions remain unresolved. Here we directly image the circular chromosome in live E. coli with a broadened cell shape. We find that it exhibits a torus topology with, on average, a lower-density origin of replication and an ultrathin flexible string of DNA at the terminus of replication. At the single-cell level, the torus is strikingly heterogeneous, with blob-like Mbp-size domains that undergo major dynamic rearrangements, splitting and merging at a minute timescale. Our data show a domain organization underlying the chromosome structure of E. coli, where MatP proteins induce site-specific persistent domain boundaries at Ori/Ter, while transcription regulators HU and Fis induce weaker transient domain boundaries throughout the genome. These findings provide an architectural basis for the understanding of the dynamic spatial organization of bacterial genomes in live cells.

Suggested Citation

  • Fabai Wu & Aleksandre Japaridze & Xuan Zheng & Jakub Wiktor & Jacob W. J. Kerssemakers & Cees Dekker, 2019. "Direct imaging of the circular chromosome in a live bacterium," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 10(1), pages 1-9, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:10:y:2019:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-019-10221-0
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-10221-0
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    Cited by:

    1. Janni Harju & Muriel C. F. Teeseling & Chase P. Broedersz, 2024. "Loop-extruders alter bacterial chromosome topology to direct entropic forces for segregation," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-10, December.
    2. David Geisel & Peter Lenz, 2022. "Machine learning classification of trajectories from molecular dynamics simulations of chromosome segregation," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(1), pages 1-33, January.
    3. Miloš Tišma & Florian Patrick Bock & Jacob Kerssemakers & Hammam Antar & Aleksandre Japaridze & Stephan Gruber & Cees Dekker, 2024. "Direct observation of a crescent-shape chromosome in expanded Bacillus subtilis cells," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-13, December.

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