Related papers: Bacterial chromosome organization by collective dy…
While bacterial chromosomes were long thought to be amorphous, recent experiments reveal pronounced organizational features. However, the extent of bacterial chromosome organization remains unclear. Here, we develop a fully data-driven…
We propose a model for the formation of chromatin loops based on the diffusive sliding of a DNA-bound factor which can dimerise to form a molecular slip-link. Our slip-links mimic the behaviour of cohesin-like molecules, which, along with…
In-vivo DNA organization at large length scales ($\sim 100nm$) is highly debated and polymer models have proved useful to understand the principle of DNA-organization. Here, we show that $<2$% cross-links at specific points in a ring…
Our understanding of how chromosomes structurally organize and dynamically interact has been revolutionized through the lens of long-chain polymer physics. Major protein contributors to chromosome structure and dynamics are condensin and…
Recent experimental and theoretical approaches have attempted to quantify the physical organization (compaction and geometry) of the bacterial chromosome with its complement of proteins (the nucleoid). The genomic DNA exists in a complex…
We showed in our previous studies that just $3\%$ cross-links, at special points along the contour of the bacterial DNA help the DNA-polymer to get organized at micron length scales \cite{jpcm,epl}. In this work, we investigate how does the…
Although both RNA and proteins have densely packed native structures, chain organizations of these two biopolymers are fundamentally different. Motivated by the recent discoveries in chromatin folding that interphase chromosomes have…
Increasing evidence suggests that chromosome folding and genetic expression are intimately connected. For example, the co-expression of a large number of genes can benefit from their spatial co-localization in the cellular space.…
Using data from contact maps of the DNA-polymer of $E. Coli$ (at kilobase pair resolution) as an input to our model, we introduce cross-links between monomers in a bead-spring model of a ring polymer at very specific points along the chain.…
We use Brownian dynamics simulations to study the formation of chromatin loops through diffusive sliding of slip-link-like proteins, mimicking the behaviour of cohesin molecules. We recently proposed that diffusive sliding is sufficient to…
Structural-Maintenance-of-Chromosome (SMC) complexes such as condensins organise the folding of chromosomes. However, their role in modulating the entanglement of DNA and chromatin is not fully understood. To address this question, we…
Using a bead-spring model of bacterial DNA polymers of {\em C. crescentus} and {\em E. coli} we show that just $33$ and $38$ effective cross-links at special positions along the chain contour of the DNA can lead to the large-scale…
The bacterial genome is organized in a structure called the nucleoid by a variety of associated proteins. These proteins can form complexes on DNA that play a central role in various biological processes, including chromosome segregation. A…
This article presents a physical biology approach to understanding organization and segregation of bacterial chromosomes. The author uses a "piston" analogy for bacterial chromosomes in a cell, which leads to a phase diagram for the…
Recent experiments have been able to visualise chromosome organization in fast-growing E.coli cells. However, the mechanism underlying the spatio-temporal organization remains poorly understood. We propose that the DNA adopts a specific…
The interplay between bacterial chromosome organization and functions such as transcription and replication can be studied in increasing detail using novel experimental techniques. Interpreting the resulting quantitative data, however, can…
Transcriptional activity has been shown to relate to the organization of chromosomes in the eukaryotic nucleus and in the bacterial nucleoid. In particular, highly transcribed genes, RNA polymerases and transcription factors gather into…
The chromatin fiber is a complex of DNA and specific proteins called histones forming the first structural level of organization of eukaryotic chromosomes. In tightly organized chromatin fibers, the short segments of naked DNA linking the…
Chromatin and associated proteins constitute the highly folded structure of chromosomes. We consider a self-avoiding polymer model of the chromatin, segments of which may get cross-linked via protein binders that repel each other. The…
One-dimensional arrays of nucleosomes (DNA-bound histone octamers separated by stretches of linker DNA) fold into higher-order chromatin structures which ultimately make up eukaryotic chromosomes. Chromatin structure formation leads to…