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Bacterial Chromatin pp 31–48Cite as

The Chromosome Segregation Machinery in Bacteria

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Abstract

Two different mechanisms for chromosome segregation can be envisioned in bacteria based on current knowledge. In some bacteria that have a single chromosome, the separation of sister chromosomes is achieved by an active machinery that can move individual regions on the chromosomes over a distance of several microns within a few minutes. This process is independent of cell elongation. Several key factors have been identified for this active machinery and will be discussed. However, the driving “motor” has not yet been discovered, although suspicious candidates like filament-forming proteins and RNA polymerase are under intensive investigation. Alternatively, chromosomes can be randomly separated if several copies are present within the cell, which seems to occur in the bacterial phylum of Cyanobacteria, and possibly in many other species.

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Acknowledgements

Work in my laboratory is supported by the University of Freiburg and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Microbiology, Faculty for Biology, University of Freiburg, Schänzle Straße 1, 79104, Freiburg, Germany

    Peter L. Graumann

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  1. Peter L. Graumann
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Correspondence to Peter L. Graumann .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Leiden Institute of Chemistry, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, 2333 CC, Leiden, Netherlands

    Remus T. Dame (Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences) (Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences)

  2. Division of Physics and Astronomy Section Physics of Complex Systems, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1081, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Remus T. Dame (Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences) (Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences)

  3. Department of Microbiology School of Genetics and Microbiology, University of Dublin Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland

    Charles J. Dorman

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Graumann, P.L. (2010). The Chromosome Segregation Machinery in Bacteria. In: Dame, R.T., Dorman, C.J. (eds) Bacterial Chromatin. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3473-1_3

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