Bacterial conjugation, also referred to as bacterial sex, is a major horizontal gene transfer
mechanism through which DNA is transferred from a donor to a recipient bacterium by direct …

Gene expression in bacteria relies on promoter recognition by the DNA-dependent RNA
polymerase and subsequent transcription initiation. Bacterial cells are able to tune their …

Bacterial chromosomes are folded to compact DNA and facilitate cellular processes.
Studying model bacteria has revealed aspects of chromosome folding that are applicable to …

Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium is a primary enteric pathogen infecting both
humans and animals. Infection begins with the ingestion of contaminated food or water so …

Hfq is an RNA-binding protein that is common to diverse bacterial lineages and has key
roles in the control of gene expression. By facilitating the pairing of small RNAs with their …

To succeed, many cells must alternate between life-styles that permit rapid growth in the
presence of abundant nutrients and ones that enhance survival in the absence of those …

Intracellular zinc is thought to be available in a cytosolic pool of free or loosely bound Zn (II)
ions in the micromolar to picomolar range. To test this, we determined the mechanism of zinc …

Macromolecular crowding affects the activity of proteins and functional macromolecular
complexes in all cells, including bacteria. Crowding, together with physicochemical …

If fully stretched out, a typical bacterial chromosome would be nearly 1 mm long,
approximately 1,000 times the length of a cell. Not only must cells massively compact their …

The σS (RpoS) subunit of RNA polymerase is the master regulator of the general stress
response in Escherichia coli and related bacteria. While rapidly growing cells contain very …