Lack of the H-NS Protein Results in Extended and Aberrantly Positioned DNA during Chromosome Replication and Segregation in Escherichia coli

The architectural protein H-NS binds nonspecifically to hundreds of sites throughout the chromosome and can multimerize to stiffen segments of DNA as well as to form DNA-protein-DNA bridges. H-NS has been suggested to contribute to the orderly folding of the Escherichia coli chromosome in the highly compacted nucleoid. In this study, we investigated the positioning and dynamics of the origins, the replisomes, and the SeqA structures trailing the replication forks in cells lacking the H-NS protein. In H-NS mutant cells, foci of SeqA, replisomes, and origins were irregularly positioned in the cell. Further analysis showed that the average distance between the SeqA structures and the replisome was increased by similar to 100 nm compared to that in wild-type cells, whereas the colocalization of SeqA-bound sister DNA behind replication forks was not affected. This result may suggest that H-NS contributes to the folding of DNA along adjacent segments. H-NS mutant cells were found to be incapable of adopting the distinct and condensed nucleoid structures characteristic of E. coli cells growing rapidly in rich medium. It appears as if H-NS mutant cells adopt a "slow-growth" type of chromosome organization under nutrient-rich conditions, which leads to a decreased cellular DNA content. IMPORTANCE It is not fully understood how and to what extent nucleoid-associated proteins contribute to chromosome folding and organization during replication and segregation in Escherichia coli. In this work, we find in vivo indications that cells lacking the nucleoid-associated protein H-NS have a lower degree of DNA condensation than wild-type cells. Our work suggests that H-NS is involved in condensing the DNA along adjacent segments on the chromosome and is not likely to tether newly replicated strands of sister DNA. We also find indications that H-NS is required for rapid growth with high DNA content and for the formation of a highly condensed nucleoid structure under such conditions.