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Bacterial histone-like proteins: roles in stress resistance

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Abstract

Histone-like proteins (HLPs) are small and basic bacterial proteins that are associated with a nucleoid and play roles in maintaining DNA architecture and regulating DNA transactions such as replication, recombination/repair and transcription. The studies on HLPs from a variety of bacterial species in recent years are summarized in this mini-review. A recent study reported a novel DNA-binding protein (HP119) in Helicobacter pylori that shows some HLP features. It plays a large role in aiding bacterial stress resistance. We provide herein additional evidence that HP119 is a nucleoid-associated protein, and present some perspectives for future study.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by The University of Georgia Research Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology, University of Georgia, 815 Biological Sciences Building, Athens, GA, 30602, USA

    Ge Wang & Robert J. Maier

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  1. Ge Wang
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  2. Robert J. Maier
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Correspondence to Robert J. Maier.

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Communicated by M. Kupiec.

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Wang, G., Maier, R.J. Bacterial histone-like proteins: roles in stress resistance. Curr Genet 61, 489–492 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00294-015-0478-x

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