Ref HAL: hal-02990631_v1
Ref Arxiv: 2002.00111
Ref. & Cit.: NASA ADS
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Résumé:

We investigate the measurement of DNA supercoiling density ($\sigma$) along chromosomes using interaction frequencies between DNA and DNA-anchored clusters of proteins. Specifically, we show how the physics of DNA supercoiling leads, in bacteria, to the quantitative modeling of binding properties of ParB proteins around their centromere-like site, {\it parS}. Using this framework, we provide an upper bound for $\sigma$ in the {\it Escherichia coli} chromosome, consistent with plasmid values, and offer a proof of concept for a high accuracy measurement. To reach these conclusions, we revisit the problem of the formation of ParB clusters. We predict, in particular, that they result from a non-equilibrium, stationary balance between an influx of produced proteins and an outflux of excess proteins, i.e., they behave like liquid-like protein condensates with unconventional ``leaky'' boundaries.