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Towards the architecture of the chromosomal architects

Nature Structural & Molecular Biology volume 16, pages 104–105 (2009)Cite this article

MukBEF, the bacterial prototype of eukaryotic condensins and cohesins, has a key role in the global chromosomal organization of Escherichia coli and its close relatives. The recent report of the crystal structure of the MukB head domain in complex with its accessory subunits MukEF clearly demonstrates that MukBEF functions as a macromolecular assembly rather than a set of individual molecules and offers clues on how ATP and MukEF regulate the architecture of this complex.

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Figure 1: Working models for the organization of MukBEF.

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  1. Valentin V. Rybenkov is in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Oklahoma, 620 Parrington Oval, Norman, Oklahoma 73019, USA. valya@ou.edu,

    Valentin V Rybenkov

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  1. Valentin V Rybenkov
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Rybenkov, V. Towards the architecture of the chromosomal architects. Nat Struct Mol Biol 16, 104–105 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/nsmb0209-104

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