A dicentric bacterial chromosome requires XerC/D site-specific recombinases for resolution.

ABSTRACT: Unlike eukaryotes and archaea, which have multiple replication origins on their chromosomes, bacterial chromosomes usually contain a single replication origin.¹ Here, we discovered a dicentric bacterial chromosome with two replication origins, which has resulted from the fusion of the circular and linear chromosomes in Agrobacterium tumefaciens. The fused chromosome is well tolerated, stably maintained, and retains similar subcellular organization and genome-wide DNA interactions found for the bipartite chromosomes. Strikingly, the two replication origins and their partitioning systems are both functional and necessary for cell survival. Finally, we discovered that the site-specific recombinases XerC and XerD² are essential in cells harboring the fused chromosome but

SUBMITTER: Liao Q 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9398967 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature