Chromosome segregation in Eubacteria.
It is now clear that bacterial chromosomes rapidly separate in a manner independent of cell elongation, suggesting the existence of a mitotic apparatus in bacteria. Recent studies of bacterial cells reveal filamentous structures similar to the eukaryotic cytoskeleton, proteins that mediate polar chromosome anchoring during Bacillus subtilis sporulation, and SMC interacting proteins that are involved in chromosome condensation. A picture is thereby developing of how bacterial chromosomes are organized within the cell, how they are separated following duplication, and how these processes are coordinated with the cell cycle.
Pogliano
Kit
K
Division of Biological Sciences, 9500 Gilman Drive, University of California-San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0349, USA. kpogliano@ucsd.edu
Pogliano
Joe
J
Becker
Eric
E
D001419:Bacteria / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development*; D020090:Chromosome Segregation / Q000502:physiology*; D002876:Chromosomes, Bacterial / Q000502:physiology*