Lecture 4 - the nucleoid and cell division Flashcards
What is notable about E. coli O157:H7?
Produces Shiga toxin –> bloody diarrhea and hemolytic uremic syndrome in humans.
Where does E. coli O157:H7 come from?
Bovine rectum
How did E. coli O157:H7 acquire the ability to produce shiga toxin
Uptake of a prophage gene that encoded the toxin
E. coli K-12 genome vs E. coli O157:H7
K-12 (lab strain) doesn’t have the same virulence or host interaction factors. O157 (virulent strain) genome is 20% larger due to insertion of virulent factors.
Variance of bacterial genome within a species
Two members of the same species can vary by up to 40% of their genome
Where is mycoplasma genitalium found?
Only found in the human genital urinary tract; sexually transmitted disease
Why is the genome of mycoplasma genitalium so small?
Loss of traits including peptidoglycan production because it only lives in an iso-osmotic fluid in the urinary tract. PG isn’t needed to protect against osmotic pressure.
What makes the genes in plasmids (episomal) different than chromosomal genes?
Generally not critical for life, but can give bacteria advantageous traits. Can be gained and lost depending on the circumstance.
E. coli vs human genome
Density: E. coli genome has a much higher concentration of coding sequences than human (more introns and repeats, only 1% of genome is actually coding)
Length: human genome is 1000x larger than E. coli (but only 5x more genes)
What defines a gene as “essential?”
The definition of “essential” is very conditional.
- Some genes are necessary in any circumstance (ex: ileS)
- Some gene deficiencies can be compensated for by the addition of the gene product (ex: dapB)
- Some genes are only necessary in certain conditions (ex: dnaK only helps above 37 C)
Function of dapB gene
Encodes diaminopimelic acid (peptide involved in PG crosslinking)
Eukaryotic vs prokaryotic storage of DNA
- Eukaryotes have a membrane-bound nucleus
- Prokaryotes have a nucleoid region extending through the cytoplasm
Purpose of macrodomains in bacterial chromosomes
Certain regions of the genome need to be kept in a specific 3D orientation relative to one another. Macrodomains need to be spatially organized
Mechanism of studying relative localization of genome macrodomains in bacteria?
Fluorescence labeling with sequence-specific fusion proteins. Place the sequence that the protein binds to anywhere in the chromosome.
What are ParB (binds parS), LacI (binds lacO), TetR (binds tetO) used for?
Can fluorescence tag these proteins to mark regions of the DNA for study of 3D orientation of certain sequences in the bacterial chromosome in relation to one another.
Limits of fluorescence labeling in determining relative position of two parts of the bacterial chromosome?
If the dots are below 200 nm apart (below the Abbe diffraction limit), we can’t resolve the dots as separate. We can only differentiate things that are over 200 nm apart to prove that two sequences are kept apart in the cell
What helps neutralize the charge of DNA for close-packing in bacteria?
Polyamines (putricine and spermine) and magnesium; positive charge neutralizes negative DNA
What is H-NS?
Histone-like nucleoid structuring protein that aids in DNA packing in bacteria
Toroidal vs plectonemic coiling
- Toroidal creates crossovers between nearby regions of DNA
- Plectonemic creates crossovers between far apart regions of DNA