The Escherichia coli SMC complex, MukBEF, shapes nucleoid organization independently of DNA replication.

Journal article

SMC (structural maintenance of chromosomes) complexes function ubiquitously in organizing and maintaining chromosomes. Functional fluorescent derivatives of the Escherichia coli SMC complex, MukBEF, form foci that associate with the replication origin region (ori). MukBEF impairment results in mispositioning of ori and other loci in steady-state cells. These observations led to an earlier proposal that MukBEF positions new replicated sister oris. We show here that MukBEF generates and maintains the cellular positioning of chromosome loci independently of DNA replication. Rapid impairment of MukBEF function by depleting a Muk component in the absence of DNA replication leads to loss of MukBEF foci as well as mispositioning of ori and other loci, while rapid Muk synthesis leads to rapid MukBEF focus formation but slow restoration of normal chromosomal locus positioning.

Authors: Badrinarayanan, A; Lesterlin, C; Reyes-Lamothe, R; Sherratt, D

• Publication status: Published
• Journal: Journal of bacteriology
• Volume: 194
• Issue: 17
• Pages: 4669-4676
• Publication date: 2012-09-01
• DOI: 10.1128/jb.00957-12
• EISSN: 1098-5530
• ISSN: 0021-9193
• Language: English
• Keywords: Chromosome Segregation; Replication Origin; DNA Replication; Escherichia coli Proteins; Repressor Proteins; Cell Cycle Proteins; Chromosomes, Bacterial; Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone; Escherichia coli; Bacterial Proteins