Objective
Efficient segregation of chromosomes is crucially important in all living organisms. In eukaryotes, cohesion of the replicated chromosomes is an important step in this process, which occurs prior to attachment to the mitotic spindle apparatus. Chromosome cohesion also occurs in some prokaryotes. In sporulating cells of Bacillus subtilis the replicated sister chromosomes adopt an unusual extended conformation, known as the axial filament, which reaches from one cell pole to the other. It is well-known that formation of the axial filament depends on anchoring of the replicated chromosomes to the cell poles. However, it also appears to involve cohesion between sister chromosomes at mid-cell. The research described in this proposal aims at unravelling the mechanism by which the two sister chromosomes are held together. Knowledge emerging from this research will deepen our understanding of chromosome segregation in B. subtilis, and more generally, will contribute to the fascinating question of how nucleoid architecture is coupled with cell division and development in this organism.
Fields of science
Call for proposal
FP6-2004-MOBILITY-5
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