The effects of polydisperse crowders on the compaction of the Escherichia coli nucleoid

What is it about?

The bacterial chromosome is compacted into a distinct organelle-like entity termed the nucleoid, which occupies about one half of the cytosolic volume. Our studies of Escherichia coli cells using osmotic and mechanical shocks show that the main contribution to the formation of the nucleoid comes from the macromolecular crowders in the cytoplasm. The main crowder species responsible for chromosome compaction are soluble cytoplasmic proteins and poly-ribosomes.

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