Fluorescence microscopy is an invaluable tool in the biosciences, a genuine workhorse
technique offering exceptional contrast in conjunction with high specificity of labelling with …

Single-molecule biophysics has transformed our understanding of biology, but also of the
physics of life. More exotic than simple soft matter, biomatter lives far from thermal …

The multiprotein replisome complex that replicates DNA has been extensively characterized
in vitro, but its composition and architecture in vivo is unknown. Using millisecond single …

SMC (structural maintenance of chromosome) proteins act ubiquitously in chromosome
processing. In Escherichia coli, the SMC complex MukBEF plays roles in chromosome …

Through the formation of concentration gradients, morphogens drive graded responses to
extracellular signals, thereby fine-tuning cell behaviors in complex tissues. Here we show …

Bacterial DNA gyrase introduces negative supercoils into chromosomal DNA and relaxes
positive supercoils introduced by replication and transiently by transcription. Removal of …

The carboxysome is a complex, proteinaceous organelle that plays essential roles in carbon
assimilation in cyanobacteria and chemoautotrophs. It comprises hundreds of protein …

Many gram-negative pathogens employ a type III secretion injectisome to translocate
effector proteins into eukaryotic host cells. While the structure of the distal “needle complex” …

Transcription is regulated through binding factors to gene promoters to activate or repress
expression, however, the mechanisms by which factors find targets remain unclear. Using …

The bacterial cell wall is essential for viability, but despite its ability to withstand internal
turgor must remain dynamic to permit growth and division. Peptidoglycan is the major cell …