title: Resolving chromosome segregation in bacteria.
abstract: Bacterial chromosomes are evenly distributed between daughter cells, however no equivalent eukaryotic mitotic apparatus has been identified yet. Nevertheless, an advance in our understanding of the dynamics of the bacterial chromosome has been accomplished in recent years by adopting fluorescence microscopy techniques to visualize living bacterial cells. Here, some of the most recent studies that yield new insights into the nature of bacterial chromosome dynamics are described. In addition, we review in detail the current models that attempt to illuminate the mechanism of chromosome segregation in bacteria and discuss the possibility that a bacterial mitotic apparatus does indeed exist.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: Ronen
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hazan
authors.forename: Hazan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ronen
authors.forename: Sigal
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ben-Yehuda
authors.forename: Ben-Yehuda
authors.initials: BY
authors.lastname: Sigal
mesh_terms: D000199:Actins / Q000378:metabolism; D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000502:physiology*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D016935:Caulobacter crescentus / Q000502:physiology*; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000502:physiology; D020090:Chromosome Segregation; D002876:Chromosomes, Bacterial / Q000502:physiology*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000502:physiology*; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D008954:Models, Biological; D010957:Plasmids / Q000502:physiology; D012097:Repressor Proteins / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; C471255:ParM protein, E coli; C086169:ParR protein, bacteria; D012097:Repressor Proteins