My lab is interested in the mechanisms of chromosome segregation, and in particular the segregation of a bacterial plasmid called P1. P1 plasmid partition is a model for the complex processes that segregate cellular as well as plasmid chromosomes.
Partition is a reaction that positions the plasmids at specific locations inside the cell.
Using a combination of molecular biology, genetics, biochemistry and cell biology, we are studying the activity of the plasmid-encoded proteins, called ParA and ParB, and are searching for bacterial factors required for this process. The ParA protein is an ATPase, which likely provides the energy to drive the positioning process. ParB-like proteins have been identified as components of the plasmid and chromosomal segregation machinery of a variety of bacterial species. Our goals are to understand how proper segregation is achieved and regulated in the cell cycle. Intracellular localization of P1 ParB protein is dependent on ParA and parS .