Conformation and dynamic interactions of the multipartite genome in <i>Agrobacterium tumefaciens</i>
Zhongqing Ren, Qin Liao, Xheni Karaboja, Ian S. Barton, Eli Garrett Schantz, Adrian Mejia-Santana, Clay Fuqua, Xindan Wang
Abstract
Significance How bacteria with multipartite genomes organize and segregate their DNA is poorly understood. Here, we investigate a prototypical multipartite genome in the plant pathogen Agrobacterium tumefaciens . We identify previously unappreciated interreplicon interactions: the four replicons cluster through interactions at their centromeres, and the two chromosomes, one circular and one linear, interact along their replication arms. Our data suggest that these interreplicon contacts play critical roles in the organization and maintenance of multipartite genomes.
Topics & Concepts
RepliconMultipartiteBiologyGenomeGeneticsPlasmidAgrobacterium tumefaciensChromosomeCircular bacterial chromosomeComputational biologyGeneTransformation (genetics)QuantumPhysicsQuantum mechanicsQuantum entanglementLegume Nitrogen Fixing SymbiosisPlant Pathogenic Bacteria StudiesBacteriophages and microbial interactions