The role of nucleoid-associated proteins in the organization and compaction of bacterial chromatin

Mol Microbiol. 2005 May;56(4):858-70. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.2005.04598.x.

Abstract

The bacterial chromosomal DNA is folded into a compact structure called nucleoid. The shape and size of this 'body' is determined by a number of factors. Major players are DNA supercoiling, macromolecular crowding and architectural proteins, associated with the nucleoid, which are the topic of this MicroReview. Although many of these proteins were identified more than 25 years ago, the molecular mechanisms involved in the organization and compaction of DNA have only started to become clear in recent years. Many of these new insights can be attributed to the use of recently developed biophysical techniques.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Bacterial Proteins / chemistry
  • Bacterial Proteins / metabolism*
  • Chromatin* / chemistry
  • Chromatin* / metabolism
  • Chromosomes, Bacterial* / chemistry
  • Chromosomes, Bacterial* / metabolism
  • DNA, Bacterial* / chemistry
  • DNA, Bacterial* / metabolism
  • DNA-Binding Proteins / chemistry
  • DNA-Binding Proteins / metabolism*
  • Nucleic Acid Conformation
  • Protein Binding

Substances

  • Bacterial Proteins
  • Chromatin
  • DNA, Bacterial
  • DNA-Binding Proteins