Publication

Chromosome Organization and Replisome Dynamics in Mycobacterium smegmatis

Related publications (32)

Resolving bacterial cell biology: from replisome dynamics to cell wall synthesis

Bacteria are ubiquitous single cellular organisms. Compared to eukaryotic cells, bacteria have two unique characteristics: the membrane-less nucleoid and the cell wall built of peptidoglycan (PG). In most bacteria, a single circular chromosome is compacted ...

EPFL2024

Chromosome organization shapes replisome dynamics in Caulobacter crescentus

Suliana Manley, Laurent Casini, Chen Zhang

DNA replication in bacteria takes place on highly compacted chromosomes, where segregation, transcription, and repair must occur simultaneously. Within this dynamic environment, colocalization of sister replisomes has been observed in many bacterial specie ...

Nature Portfolio2024

Single-mitosis dissection of acute and chronic DNA mutagenesis and repair

Christina Ernst

How chronic mutational processes and punctuated bursts of DNA damage drive evolution of the cancer genome is poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate a strategy to disentangle and quantify distinct mechanisms underlying genome evolution in single cells, dur ...

Nature Portfolio2024

Advancing Cell-Free Synthetic Biology: From sustained PURE protein synthesis to an isothermal one-pot DNA replication system

Laura Sophie Grasemann

One of the goals of synthetic biology is the development of an artificial cell. Building an artificial cell from scratch will provide a deeper understanding of fundamental mechanisms and models in biology and promises to contribute towards building novel p ...

EPFL2024

Regulation and impact of TERRA R-loops at human telomeres

Rita Valador Fernandes

Telomeres are the nucleoprotein structures found at the ends of linear chromosomes. They ensure that the termini of chromosomes are not inappropriately recognized as sites of DNA damage, and are therefore crucial for genome stability. In spite of the heter ...

EPFL2023

Telomere protection against oxidative stress

Thu Trang Nguyen

Telomeres are nucleoprotein structures at the ends of linear chromosomes, being essential for the maintenance of genomic integrity. Telomeres have a unique structure which distinguishes chromosome termini from DNA damage sites. Shelterin complexes are the ...

EPFL2023

Centromere structure and function: lessons from Drosophila

Eftychia Kyriacou

The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster serves as a powerful model organism for advancing our understanding of biological processes, not just by studying its similarities with other organisms including ourselves but also by investigating its differences to u ...

Genetics Society America2023

The THO complex counteracts TERRA R-loop-mediated telomere fragility in telomerase(+) cells and telomeric recombination in ALT(+) cells

Joachim Lingner, Rita Valador Fernandes

Telomeres are the nucleoprotein structures at the ends of linear chromosomes. Telomeres are transcribed into long non-coding Telomeric Repeat-Containing RNA (TERRA), whose functions rely on its ability to associate with telomeric chromatin. The conserved T ...

OXFORD UNIV PRESS2023

Investigating the composition and recruitment of the mycobacterial ImuA'-ImuB-DnaE2 mutasome

John McKinney, Neeraj Dhar, Zela Alexandria-Mae Martin

A DNA damage-inducible mutagenic gene cassette has been implicated in the emergence of drug resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis during anti-tuberculosis (TB) chemotherapy. However, the molecular composition and operation of the encoded 'mycobacterial ...

Elife Sciences Publ Ltd2023

C2CAplus: A One-Pot Isothermal Circle-to-Circle DNA Amplification System

Sebastian Maerkl, Laura Sophie Grasemann

Rolling circle amplification (RCA) is a widely used DNA amplification method that uses circular template DNA as input and produces multimeric, linear single- or double-stranded DNA. Circle-to-circle amplification (C2CA) has further expanded this method by ...

Amer Chemical Soc2023

CENP-A and CENP-B collaborate to create an open centromeric chromatin state

Beat Fierz, Harsh Nagpal, Wei Cai

Centromeres are epigenetically defined via the presence of the histone H3 variant CENP-A. Contacting CENP-A nucleosomes, the constitutive centromere associated network (CCAN) and the kinetochore assemble, connecting the centromere to spindle microtubules d ...

Nature Portfolio2023

Development of multiplexed single-molecule imaging techniques to study chromatin invasion dynamics of chromatin effector proteins

Kristina Makasheva

DNA-binding proteins physically interact with the DNA and directly affect genomic functions. The eukaryotic genome is compacted into chromatin, limiting the DNA access to nuclear factors. In this Ph.D. thesis, I explored the dynamic mechanisms, that allow ...

EPFL2023

Identification and characterization of proteins that protect human telomeres from fragility

Anna Christina Näger

Difficulties to replicate telomeres - the ends of our chromosomes - can cause telomere shortening and genome instability. These difficulties are due to the repetitive DNA sequence and distinct structures at telomeres that challenge the semi-conservative DN ...

EPFL2022

TFIIH moonlighting at telomeres

Joachim Lingner, Galina Glousker

Although telomeres are essential for chromosome stability, they represent fragile structures in our genome. Telomere shortening occurs during aging in cells lacking telomerase due to the end replication problem. In addition, recent work uncovered that the ...

COLD SPRING HARBOR LAB PRESS, PUBLICATIONS DEPT2022

Exploring the mechanisms governing nuclear cGAS localization and activity

Marilena Wischnewski

Recognition of pathogen-derived molecules through germline-encoded receptors is a fundamental principle of innate immunity. Pattern recognition receptors detect specific intracellular danger signals to trigger potent immune responses. The DNA sensor cyclic ...

EPFL2022

Principles of checkpoint override

Ahmad Sadeghi

Why biological quality-control systems fail is often mysterious. Specifically, checkpoints such as the DNA damage checkpoint or the spindle assembly checkpoint are overriden after prolonged arrests allowing cells to continue dividing despite the continued ...

EPFL2022

Polydimethylsiloxane microstructure-induced acoustic streaming for enhanced ultrasonic DNA fragmentation on a microfluidic chip

Thomas Lehnert, Martinus Gijs, Lin Sun

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) is an essential technology for DNA identification in genomic research. DNA fragmentation is a critical step for NGS and doing this on-chip is of great interest for future integrated genomic solutions. Here we demonstrate fa ...

ROYAL SOC CHEMISTRY2022

Natural competence of the pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii: an elusive phenomenon

Nina Vesel

Natural competence for transformation is an important driver of horizontal DNA exchange between different organisms. This can result in accumulation of dangerous genetic features, such as antibiotic resistance genes, in a single organism. One example of an ...

EPFL2022

Preexisting Heterogeneity of Inducible Nitric Oxide Synthase Expression Drives Differential Growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Macrophages

John McKinney, Ophélie Rutschmann, Chiara Toniolo

Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection is initiated by the inhalation and implantation of bacteria in the lung alveoli, where they are phagocytosed by macrophages. Even a single bacterium may be sufficient to initiate infection. Thereafter, the clinical outc ...

AMER SOC MICROBIOLOGY2022

Coordination between cell growth, division and chromosome replication cycles in mycobacteria

Gaëlle Madeleine Vuaridel

Propagation of microorganisms is based on three fundamental processes: cell growth, DNA replication, and cell division. Although important for antibacterial drug development, these processes are poorly understood in Actinobacteria, a medically important ph ...

EPFL2021