Chromosome segregation dynamics during the cell cycle of Staphylococcus aureus.

ABSTRACT: Research on chromosome organization and cell cycle progression in spherical bacteria, particularly Staphylococcus aureus, remains limited and fragmented. In this study, we established a working model to investigate chromosome dynamics in S. aureus using a Fluorescent Repressor-Operator System (FROS), which enabled precise localization of specific chromosomal loci. This approach revealed that the S. aureus cell cycle and chromosome replication cycle are not synchronized (i.e. they do not initiate simultaneously), with cells exhibiting two segregated origins of replication at the start of the cell cycle. The chromosome has a specific origin-terminus-origin conformation, with origins localizing near the membrane, towards the tip of each hemisphere, or the "cell poles". We further used this sy

SUBMITTER: Izquierdo-Martinez A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12479847 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature