title: Mechanisms for chromosome and plasmid segregation.
abstract: The fundamental problems in duplicating and transmitting genetic information posed by the geometric and topological features of DNA, combined with its large size, are qualitatively similar for prokaryotic and eukaryotic chromosomes. The evolutionary solutions to these problems reveal common themes. However, depending on differences in their organization, ploidy, and copy number, chromosomes and plasmids display distinct segregation strategies as well. In bacteria, chromosome duplication, likely mediated by a stationary replication factory, is accompanied by rapid, directed migration of the daughter duplexes with assistance from DNA-compacting and perhaps translocating proteins. The segregation of unit-copy or low-copy bacterial plasmids is also regulated spatially and temporally by their respective partitioning systems. Eukaryotic chromosomes utilize variations of a basic pairing and unpairing mechanism for faithful segregation during mitosis and meiosis. Rather surprisingly, the yeast plasmid 2-micron circle also resorts to a similar scheme for equal partitioning during mitosis.
authors.affiliation: Section of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712-0612, USA. ghoshsk@mail.utexas.edu
authors.forename: Santanu Kumar
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Ghosh
authors.forename: Sujata
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hajra
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Paek
authors.forename: Makkuni
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jayaram
mesh_terms: D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases / Q000378:metabolism; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000502:physiology; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D002868:Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone / Q000378:metabolism; D020090:Chromosome Segregation; D002876:Chromosomes, Bacterial; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000378:metabolism; D004261:DNA Replication; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D046912:Multiprotein Complexes / Q000378:metabolism; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D010957:Plasmids / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D008941:Spindle Apparatus / Q000378:metabolism; D000097722:Cohesins
chemical_list: D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D002868:Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D046912:Multiprotein Complexes; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D000097722:Cohesins; C108312:condensin complexes