Identification and characterization of a bacterial chromosome partitioning site.
We have identified a DNA site involved in chromosome partitioning in B. subtilis. This site was identified in vivo as the binding site for the chromosome partitioning protein Spo0J, a member of the ParB family of partitioning proteins. Spo0J is a site-specific DNA-binding protein that recognizes a 16 bp sequence found in spo0J. Allowing two mismatches, this sequence occurs ten times in the entire B. subtilis chromosome, all in the origin-proximal approximately 20%. Eight of the ten sequences are bound to Spo0J in vivo. The presence of a site on an otherwise unstable plasmid stabilized the plasmid in a Spo0J-dependent manner, demonstrating that this site, called parS, can function as a partitioning site. This site and Spo0J are conserved in a wide range of bacterial species.
Lin
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Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 02139, USA.
Grossman
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D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000235:genetics*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D001483:Base Sequence; D001665:Binding Sites; D002876:Chromosomes, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D016384:Consensus Sequence / Q000235:genetics; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000378:metabolism; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D018628:Gene Dosage; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016254:Mutagenesis, Insertional; D010957:Plasmids / Q000378:metabolism; D012808:Sigma Factor; D014157:Transcription Factors
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D012808:Sigma Factor; D014157:Transcription Factors; C092468:spoIIR protein, Bacillus subtilis; C030069:spore-specific proteins, Bacillus