The two Cis-acting sites, parS1 and oriC1, contribute to the longitudinal organisation of Vibrio cholerae chromosome I

PLoS Genet. 2014 Jul 10;10(7):e1004448. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1004448. eCollection 2014 Jul.

Abstract

The segregation of bacterial chromosomes follows a precise choreography of spatial organisation. It is initiated by the bipolar migration of the sister copies of the replication origin (ori). Most bacterial chromosomes contain a partition system (Par) with parS sites in close proximity to ori that contribute to the active mobilisation of the ori region towards the old pole. This is thought to result in a longitudinal chromosomal arrangement within the cell. In this study, we followed the duplication frequency and the cellular position of 19 Vibrio cholerae genome loci as a function of cell length. The genome of V. cholerae is divided between two chromosomes, chromosome I and II, which both contain a Par system. The ori region of chromosome I (oriI) is tethered to the old pole, whereas the ori region of chromosome II is found at midcell. Nevertheless, we found that both chromosomes adopted a longitudinal organisation. Chromosome I extended over the entire cell while chromosome II extended over the younger cell half. We further demonstrate that displacing parS sites away from the oriI region rotates the bulk of chromosome I. The only exception was the region where replication terminates, which still localised to the septum. However, the longitudinal arrangement of chromosome I persisted in Par mutants and, as was reported earlier, the ori region still localised towards the old pole. Finally, we show that the Par-independent longitudinal organisation and oriI polarity were perturbed by the introduction of a second origin. Taken together, these results suggest that the Par system is the major contributor to the longitudinal organisation of chromosome I but that the replication program also influences the arrangement of bacterial chromosomes.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Chromosome Segregation / genetics
  • Chromosomes, Bacterial*
  • DNA Replication / genetics*
  • Origin Recognition Complex / genetics*
  • Vibrio cholerae / genetics*

Substances

  • OriC chromosomal replication origin
  • Origin Recognition Complex

Grants and funding

This work was supported by Agence Nationale pour la Recherche [ANR-09-BLAN-0258] - European Research Council under the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme [FP7/2007–2013 Grant Agreement no. 281590]. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.