Dogma-defying bacteria package DNA in unusual ways

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Some bacteria appear to encase their genomes in proteins called histones — which weren’t thought to exist in bacterial cells.

Credit: Alfred Pasieka/Science Photo Library

Although histones are vital tools for maintaining chromosome structure and controlling gene activity in eukaryotes and microorganisms called archaea, for years it was widely assumed that they did not exist in bacteria. The lack of diversity also raises questions for synthetic biologists in search of new ways to control gene expression, says Tobias Warnecke, a molecular evolutionary biologist at Imperial College London. “The fundamental composition of the chromatin and how gene expression works is very similar across eukaryotes and then you start wondering, ‘is that a frozen accident?’” he says.

 

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Quote: '...the researchers surveyed thousands of bacterial genomes. They found histone-like proteins in about 2% of the genomes, which suggests that there will be many other systems to study.'

Disgusting

Dogma defying? Pontifex , excommunicate these bacteria at once!

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