The Three-Dimensional Architecture of a Bacterial Genome and Its Alteration by Genetic Perturbation

Abstract

We have determined the three-dimensional (3D) architecture of the Caulobacter crescentus genome by combining genome-wide chromatin interaction detection, live-cell imaging, and computational modeling. Using chromosome conformation capture carbon copy (5C) technology, we derive ~13 Kb resolution 3D models of the Caulobacter genome. These models illustrate that the genome is ellipsoidal with periodically arranged arms. The parS sites, a pair of short contiguous sequence elements involved in chromosome segregation, are positioned at one pole of this structure, where they nucleate a compact chromatin conformation. Both 5C and imaging experiments demonstrate that placing these sequence elements at new genomic positions yields large-scale rotations of the genome within the cell. Utilizing automated fluorescent imaging, we orient the genome within the cell and illustrate that within the resolution of our data the parS proximal region is the only portion of the genome stably attached to the cell envelope. Our approach provides an experimental paradigm for deriving insight into the cis-determinants of 3D genome architecture.