Spatial and Temporal Organization of Chromosome Duplication and Segregation in the Cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942
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Spatial and Temporal Organization of Chromosome Duplication and Segregation in the Cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942
| Title: | Spatial and Temporal Organization of Chromosome Duplication and Segregation in the Cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 |
| Author: |
Chen, Anna Hang; Afonso, Bruno; Silver, Pamela A.; Savage, David F.
Note: Order does not necessarily reflect citation order of authors. |
| Citation: | Chen, Anna H., Bruno Afonso, Pamela A. Silver, and David F. Savage. 2012. Spatial and temporal organization of chromosome duplication and segregation in the Cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942. PLoS ONE 7(10): e47837. |
| Full Text & Related Files: |
3480399.pdf (551.3Kb; PDF) 
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| Abstract: | The spatial and temporal control of chromosome duplication and segregation is crucial for proper cell division. While this process is well studied in eukaryotic and some prokaryotic organisms, relatively little is known about it in prokaryotic polyploids such as Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942, which is known to possess one to eight copies of its single chromosome. Using a fluorescent repressor-operator system, S. elongatus chromosomes and chromosome replication forks were tagged and visualized. We found that chromosomal duplication is asynchronous and that the total number of chromosomes is correlated with cell length. Thus, replication is independent of cell cycle and coupled to cell growth. Replication events occur in a spatially random fashion. However, once assembled, replisomes move in a constrained manner. On the other hand, we found that segregation displays a striking spatial organization in some cells. Chromosomes transiently align along the major axis of the cell and timing of alignment was correlated to cell division. This mechanism likely contributes to the non-random segregation of chromosome copies to daughter cells. |
| Published Version: | doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0047837 |
| Other Sources: | http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3480399/pdf/ |
| Terms of Use: | This article is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of-use#LAA |
| Citable link to this page: | http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:10511079 |
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