A structural and biochemical approach shows that CTP binding and hydrolysis regulate nucleation, spreading, and recycling of a chromosome segregation protein ParB.
Genetic and microscopy analyses identify a programmed cell death mechanism that kills a cell subpopulation in a bacterial biofilm where oxygen is limiting, thereby promoting dispersion of newborn motile cells through the action of DNA released by dead cells.
Human chromosome-microtubule attachments are stabilised by Astrin-mediated dynamic delivery of PP1 phosphatase to the attachment site, which ensures the normal segregation of chromosomes.
Matthieu Bergé, Julian Pezzatti ... Patrick H Viollier
A key enzyme of central energy metabolism, citrate synthase, regulates bacterial cell cycle progression at a very specific stage (S-phase) and independently of its enzymatic activity.
The prokaryotic actin homologue MreB forms antiparallel double filaments in vitro and in vivo, an architecture that is unprecedented among the actin family of proteins.
The architecture of the bacterial cytokinetic ring in cells and in artificial liposome reconstitutions has been described using electron microscopy, leading to a mechanism of constriction.
Single-molecule experiments reveal that plectonemic supercoils occupy specific positions on DNA and a physical model relates this to the intrinsic curvature, providing an insight into how supercoiling organizes the genome.