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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Stephan Gruber, Dr Jan-Willem Veening, Professor Jeff ErringtonORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
Condensin-an SMC-kleisin complex is essential for efficient segregation of sister chromatids in eukaryotes [1-4]. In Escherichia coil and Bacillus subtilis, deletion of condensin subunits results in severe growth phenotypes and the accumulation of cells lacking nucleoids [5, 6]. In many other bacteria and under slow growth conditions, however, the reported phenotypes are much milder or virtually absent [7-10]. This raises the question of what role prokaryotic condensin might play during chromosome segregation under various growth conditions. In B. subtilis and Streptococcus pneumoniae, condensin complexes are enriched on the circular chromosome near the single origin of replication by ParB proteins bound to parS sequences [11, 12]. Using conditional alleles of condensin in B. subtilis, we demonstrate that depletion of its activity results in an immediate and severe defect in the partitioning of replication origins. Multiple copies of the chromosome remain unsegregated at or near the origin of replication. Surprisingly, the growth and chromosome segregation defects in rich medium are suppressed by a reduction of replication fork velocity but not by partial inhibition of translation or transcription. Prokaryotic condensin likely prevents the formation of sister DNA interconnections at the replication fork or promotes their resolution behind the fork.
Author(s): Gruber S, Veening JW, Bach J, Blettinger M, Bramkamp M, Errington J
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Current Biology
Year: 2014
Volume: 24
Issue: 3
Pages: 293-298
Print publication date: 03/02/2014
Online publication date: 16/01/2014
Acceptance date: 17/12/2013
Date deposited: 02/09/2014
ISSN (print): 0960-9822
ISSN (electronic): 1879-0445
Publisher: Cell Press
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2013.12.049
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2013.12.049
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