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DNA supercoiling is a fundamental regulatory principle in the control of bacterial gene expression

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Abstract

Although it has become routine to consider DNA in terms of its role as a carrier of genetic information, it is also an important contributor to the control of gene expression. This regulatory principle arises from its structural properties. DNA is maintained in an underwound state in most bacterial cells and this has important implications both for DNA storage in the nucleoid and for the expression of genetic information. Underwinding of the DNA through reduction in its linking number potentially imparts energy to the duplex that is available to drive DNA transactions, such as transcription, replication and recombination. The topological state of DNA also influences its affinity for some DNA binding proteins, especially in DNA sequences that have a high A + T base content. The underwinding of DNA by the ATP-dependent topoisomerase DNA gyrase creates a continuum between metabolic flux, DNA topology and gene expression that underpins the global response of the genome to changes in the intracellular and external environments. These connections describe a fundamental and generalised mechanism affecting global gene expression that underlies the specific control of transcription operating through conventional transcription factors. This mechanism also provides a basal level of control for genes acquired by horizontal DNA transfer, assisting microbial evolution, including the evolution of pathogenic bacteria.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Science Foundation Ireland Principal Investigator Award 13/IA/1875.

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  1. Matthew J. Dorman

    Present address: Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SA, UK

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  1. Department of Microbiology, Moyne Institute of Preventive Medicine, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland

    Charles J. Dorman

  2. Department of Genetics, Smurfit Institute of Genetics, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland

    Matthew J. Dorman

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Dorman, C.J., Dorman, M.J. DNA supercoiling is a fundamental regulatory principle in the control of bacterial gene expression. Biophys Rev 8, 209–220 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12551-016-0205-y

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