title: A journey through the microscopic ages of DNA replication.
abstract: Scientific discoveries and technological advancements are inseparable but not always take place in a coherent chronological manner. In the next, we will provide a seemingly unconnected and serendipitous series of scientific facts that, in the whole, converged to unveil DNA and its duplication. We will not cover here the many and fundamental contributions from microbial genetics and in vitro biochemistry. Rather, in this journey, we will emphasize the interplay between microscopy development culminating on super resolution fluorescence microscopy (i.e., nanoscopy) and digital image analysis and its impact on our understanding of DNA duplication. We will interlace the journey with landmark concepts and experiments that have brought the cellular DNA replication field to its present state.
authors.affiliation: Cell Biology and Epigenetics, Department of Biology, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstrasse 10, 64287, Darmstadt, Germany.
authors.forename: Marius
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Reinhart
authors.affiliation: Cell Biology and Epigenetics, Department of Biology, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstrasse 10, 64287, Darmstadt, Germany. cardoso@bio.tu-darmstadt.de.
authors.forename: M Cristina
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Cardoso
mesh_terms: D004247:DNA / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics / Q000266:history*; D004261:DNA Replication / Q000502:physiology*; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D004247:DNA
keywords: DNA; DNA replication; Replication foci; Replicon; Replisome; Super resolution microscopy