title: Cell cycle regulation by the bacterial nucleoid.
abstract: Division site selection presents a fundamental challenge to all organisms. Bacterial cells are small and the chromosome (nucleoid) often fills most of the cell volume. Thus, in order to maximise fitness and avoid damaging the genetic material, cell division must be tightly co-ordinated with chromosome replication and segregation. To achieve this, bacteria employ a number of different mechanisms to regulate division site selection. One such mechanism, termed nucleoid occlusion, allows the nucleoid to protect itself by acting as a template for nucleoid occlusion factors, which prevent Z-ring assembly over the DNA. These factors are sequence-specific DNA-binding proteins that exploit the precise organisation of the nucleoid, allowing them to act as both spatial and temporal regulators of bacterial cell division. The identification of proteins responsible for this process has provided a molecular understanding of nucleoid occlusion but it has also prompted the realisation that substantial levels of redundancy exist between the diverse systems that bacteria employ to ensure that division occurs in the right place, at the right time.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Bacterial Cell Biology, Baddiley-Clark Building, Medical School, Newcastle University, Richardson Road, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE2 4AX, United Kingdom
authors.forename: David William
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Adams
authors.forename: Ling Juan
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Jeff
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Errington
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000502:physiology*; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D055503:Protein Multimerization
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; C071525:FtsZ protein, Bacteria; C052883:chromosome partition proteins, bacterial