Bioinformatics Seminar
Time:
Venue: Na
7 March 2017
NaDefined chromosome structure in the genome- reduced bacterium Mycoplasma pneumoniae
Marie TrussartWEHI Bioinformatics
DNA-binding proteins are central regulators of chromosome organization; however ; in genome-reduced bacteria their diversity is largely diminished. Whether the chromosomes of such bacteria adopt defined three-dimensional structures remains unexplored. Here we combine Hi-C and super-resolution microscopy to determine the structure of the Mycoplasma pneumoniae chromosome at a 10kb resolution. We find a defined structure ; with a global symmetry between two arms that connect opposite poles ; one bearing the chromosomal Ori and the other the midpoint. Analysis of local structures at a 3 kb resolution indicates that the chromosome is organized into domains ranging from 15 to 33kb. We provide evidence that genes within the same domain tend to be co-regulated ; suggesting that chromosome organization influences transcriptional regulation ; and that supercoiling regulates local organization. This study extends the current understanding of bacterial genome organization and demonstrates that a defined chromosomal structure is a universal feature of living systems.;;;