title: Biochemical, molecular genetic, and structural analyses of the staphylococcal nucleoid.
abstract: The nucleoid structure of an important human pathogen, Staphylococcus aureus, was dissected by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The nucleoids dispersed on a cover glass consisted of fibrous units with two different widths of 40 and 80 nm, a feature shared with those of Escherichia coli. On the other hand, cells exposed to an oxidative stress exhibited clogged nucleoids. A knock-out of mrgA (metallo regulated genes A) encoding a staphylococcal homolog of the nucleoid compaction factor (E. coli Dps) eliminated the compaction response to the oxidative stress and reduced the susceptibilities to H2O2 and UV irradiation. We also observed that the negative supercoiling of plasmids is increased by the oxidative stress. A possible interrelation between the helical density and the nucleoid compaction is discussed in relation to the oxidative stress response.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tennoh-dai, Tsukuba 305-8575, Japan. morikawa@sakura.cc.tsukuba.ac.jp
authors.forename: Kazuya
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Morikawa
authors.forename: Ryosuke L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Ohniwa
authors.forename: Joongbaek
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Sayaka L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Takeshita
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Maruyama
authors.forename: Yumiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Inose
authors.forename: Kunio
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takeyasu
authors.forename: Toshiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ohta
mesh_terms: D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004278:DNA, Superhelical / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D016680:Genome, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics* / Q000528:radiation effects; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force / Q000379:methods; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000528:radiation effects; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004278:DNA, Superhelical