High-Resolution Mapping of the Spatial Organization of a Bacterial Chromosome
Author(s)
Imakaev, Maksim Viktorovich
Le, Tung
Mirny, Leonid A
Laub, Michael T
Date Issued
October 2013
Journal
Science
Publisher
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Citation
Le, T. B. K., M. V. Imakaev, L. A. Mirny, and M. T. Laub. “High-Resolution Mapping of the Spatial Organization of a Bacterial Chromosome.” Science 342, no. 6159 (November 8, 2013): 731–734.
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
Chromosomes must be highly compacted and organized within cells, but how this is achieved in vivo remains poorly understood. We report the use of chromosome conformation capture coupled with deep sequencing (Hi-C) to map the structure of bacterial chromosomes. Analysis of Hi-C data and polymer modeling indicates that the Caulobacter crescentus chromosome consists of multiple, largely independent spatial domains that are probably composed of supercoiled plectonemes arrayed into a bottle brush–like fiber. These domains are stable throughout the cell cycle and are reestablished concomitantly with DNA replication. We provide evidence that domain boundaries are established by highly expressed genes and the formation of plectoneme-free regions, whereas the histone-like protein HU and SMC (structural maintenance of chromosomes) promote short-range compaction and the colinearity of chromosomal arms, respectively. Collectively, our results reveal general principles for the organization and structure of chromosomes in vivo.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Institute for Medical Engineering & Science
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Biology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. School of Engineering
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1242059
