SMC condensin entraps chromosomal DNA by an ATP hydrolysis dependent loading mechanism in Bacillus subtilis
- Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Germany
- Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Republic of Korea
- Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Republic of Korea
Abstract
Smc-ScpAB forms elongated, annular structures that promote chromosome segregation, presumably by compacting and resolving sister DNA molecules. The mechanistic basis for its action, however, is only poorly understood. Here, we have established a physical assay to determine whether the binding of condensin to native chromosomes in Bacillus subtilis involves entrapment of DNA by the Smc-ScpAB ring. To do so, we have chemically cross-linked the three ring interfaces in Smc-ScpAB and thereafter isolated intact chromosomes under protein denaturing conditions. Exclusively species of Smc-ScpA, which were previously cross-linked into covalent rings, remained associated with chromosomal DNA. DNA entrapment is abolished by mutations that interfere with the Smc ATPase cycle and strongly reduced when the recruitment factor ParB is deleted, implying that most Smc-ScpAB is loaded onto the chromosome at parS sites near the replication origin. We furthermore report a physical interaction between native Smc-ScpAB and chromosomal DNA fragments.
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© 2015, Wilhelm et al.
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SMC condensin entraps chromosomal DNA by an ATP hydrolysis dependent loading mechanism in Bacillus subtilis
eLife 4:e06659.
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.06659
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Liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) involving intrinsically disordered protein regions (IDRs) is a major physical mechanism for biological membraneless compartmentalization. The multifaceted electrostatic effects in these biomolecular condensates are exemplified here by experimental and theoretical investigations of the different salt- and ATP-dependent LLPSs of an IDR of messenger RNA-regulating protein Caprin1 and its phosphorylated variant pY-Caprin1, exhibiting, for example, reentrant behaviors in some instances but not others. Experimental data are rationalized by physical modeling using analytical theory, molecular dynamics, and polymer field-theoretic simulations, indicating that interchain ion bridges enhance LLPS of polyelectrolytes such as Caprin1 and the high valency of ATP-magnesium is a significant factor for its colocalization with the condensed phases, as similar trends are observed for other IDRs. The electrostatic nature of these features complements ATP’s involvement in π-related interactions and as an amphiphilic hydrotrope, underscoring a general role of biomolecular condensates in modulating ion concentrations and its functional ramifications.
