Physical models of bacterial chromosomes.
Mol Microbiol
; 2024 Apr 05.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38578226
ABSTRACT
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 be theoretically challenging. In this minireview, we discuss how connecting experimental observations to biophysical theory and modeling can give rise to new insights on bacterial chromosome organization. We consider three flavors of models of increasing complexity simple polymer models that explore how physical constraints, such as confinement or plectoneme branching, can affect bacterial chromosome organization; bottom-up mechanistic models that connect these constraints to their underlying causes, for instance, chromosome compaction to macromolecular crowding, or supercoiling to transcription; and finally, data-driven methods for inferring interpretable and quantitative models directly from complex experimental data. Using recent examples, we discuss how biophysical models can both deepen our understanding of how bacterial chromosomes are structured and give rise to novel predictions about bacterial chromosome organization.
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Mol Microbiol
Asunto de la revista:
BIOLOGIA MOLECULAR
/
MICROBIOLOGIA
Año:
2024
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Países Bajos