The nucleoid occlusion factor Noc controls DNA replication initiation in Staphylococcus aureus.

ABSTRACT: Successive division events in the spherically shaped bacterium Staphylococcus aureus are oriented in three alternating perpendicular planes. The mechanisms that underlie this relatively unique pattern of division and coordinate it with chromosome segregation remain largely unknown. Thus far, the only known spatial regulator of division in this organism is the nucleoid occlusion protein Noc that inhibits assembly of the cytokinetic ring over the chromosome. However, Noc is not essential in S. aureus, indicating that additional regulators are likely to exist. To search for these factors, we screened for mutants that are synthetic lethal with Noc inactivation. Our characterization of these mutants led to the discovery that S. aureus Noc also controls the initiation of DNA replication. We show

SUBMITTER: Pang T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5540599 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature