DNA packaging by molecular motors: from bacteriophage to human chromosomes

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Dense packaging of genomic DNA is crucial for organismal survival, as DNA length always far exceeds the dimensions of the cells that contain it. Organisms, therefore, use sophisticated machineries to package their genomes. These systems range across kingdoms from a single ultra-powerful rotary motor that spools the DNA into a bacteriophage head, to hundreds of thousands of relatively weak molecular motors that coordinate the compaction of mitotic chromosomes in eukaryotic cells. Recent technological advances, such as DNA proximity-based sequencing approaches, polymer modelling and in vitro reconstitution of DNA loop extrusion, have shed light on the biological mechanisms driving DNA organization in different systems. Here, we discuss DNA packaging in bacteriophage, bacteria and eukaryotic cells, which, despite their extreme variation in size, structure and genomic content, all rely on the action of molecular motors to package their genomes.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)785-802
JournalNature Reviews Genetics
Volume25
Early online date17 Jun 2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2024

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