Gene loci fluctuations reveal bacterial chromosome dynamical organization.

ABSTRACT: Chromosomal sites in rod-like bacteria move sub-diffusely, driven by the out-of-equilibrium nature of the viscoelastic, crowded intracellular environment. Furthermore, it has been shown that there is a pronounced dynamical asymmetry between longitudinal (long-axis) and transverse (radial) motions, manifested in different exponents in the mean-square displacements MSDt~tα , αl and αr respectively. Here, using polymer simulations and experimental observations of a locus in Bacillus subtilis, we substantiate the notion that asymmetric dynamics are a result of the asymmetric structure of the bacterial chromosome modeled as a bottlebrush polymer in a poor solvent. Our simulations recapitulate the observed asymmetry as well as the range of the observed exponent values that are related to scaling

SUBMITTER: Bajpai G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12722710 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature