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Noc protein binds to specific DNA sequences to coordinate cell division with chromosome segregation
Author(s) -
Wu Ling Juan,
Ishikawa Shu,
Kawai Yoshikazu,
Oshima Taku,
Ogasawara Naotake,
Errington Jeff
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
the embo journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 7.484
H-Index - 392
eISSN - 1460-2075
pISSN - 0261-4189
DOI - 10.1038/emboj.2009.144
Subject(s) - biology , nucleoid , cell division , cytokinesis , chromosome segregation , chromosome , dna , microbiology and biotechnology , origin of replication , cell , bacillus subtilis , dna replication , genetics , gene , escherichia coli , bacteria
Coordination of chromosome segregation and cytokinesis is crucial for efficient cell proliferation. In Bacillus subtilis , the nucleoid occlusion protein Noc protects the chromosomes by associating with the chromosome and preventing cell division in its vicinity. Using protein localization, ChAP‐on‐Chip and bioinformatics, we have identified a consensus Noc‐binding DNA sequence (NBS), and have shown that Noc is targeted to about 70 discrete regions scattered around the chromosome, though absent from a large region around the replication terminus. Purified Noc bound specifically to an NBS in vitro . NBSs inserted near the replication terminus bound Noc–YFP and caused a delay in cell division. An autonomous plasmid carrying an NBS array recruited Noc–YFP and conferred a severe Noc‐dependent inhibition of cell division. This shows that Noc is a potent inhibitor of division, but that its activity is strictly localized by the interaction with NBS sites in vivo . We propose that Noc serves not only as a spatial regulator of cell division to protect the nucleoid, but also as a timing device with an important role in the coordination of chromosome segregation and cell division.