HU promotes higher order chromosome organization and influences DNA replication rates in Streptococcus pneumoniae.

ABSTRACT: Nucleoid-associated proteins (NAPs) are crucial for maintaining chromosomal compaction and architecture, and are actively involved in DNA replication, recombination, repair, and gene regulation. In Streptococcus pneumoniae, the role of the highly conserved NAP HU in chromosome conformation has not yet been investigated. Here, we use a multi-scale approach to explore HU's role in chromosome conformation and segregation dynamics. By combining superresolution microscopy and whole-genome-binding analysis, we describe the nucleoid as a dynamic structure where HU binds transiently across the entire nucleoid, with a preference for the origin of replication over the terminus. Reducing cellular HU levels impacts nucleoid maintenance and disrupts nucleoid scaling with cell size, similar to the disto

SUBMITTER: Mazzuoli MV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12014288 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature