Characterizing the Impact of Nucleoid-Associated Proteins on HU-DNA Interactions by Live-Cell Single-Molecule Tracking.

ABSTRACT: The bacterial nucleoid undergoes extensive structural reorganization during growth, driven in part by nucleoid-associated proteins (NAPs). It is not well understood how NAPs affect one another's binding and diffusion, and hence nucleoid organization, in different growth phases. We addressed this question by tracking single molecules of the non-specific NAP HUα-PAmCherry in living Escherichia coli cells to investigate nucleoid organization and NAP-chromosome interactions. We analyzed the mobility of HUα-PAmCherry in different growth phases and further examined how two NAPs, Dps and H-NS, impact HUα dynamics. We found that HUα mobility depends on the growth phase. In exponential phase, HUα has two distinct mobility states: a fast-diffusing state and a slower, interacting state. In sta

SUBMITTER: Fuller DEH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12767515 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature