{
  "abstract": "Nucleoid-associated proteins are known to compact and organise bacterial genomes, but how their local DNA binding shapes higher-order chromatin architecture remains unclear. Using in vitro and in situ approaches, we investigated how Deinococcus radiodurans HU (DrHU) orchestrates nucleoid organisation. DrHU engages DNA through two synergistic binding modes: high-affinity β-hairpin-mediated stabilisation of DNA loops and low-affinity, multivalent interaction via its N-terminal tail, driving parallel, uniformly spaced DNA alignment. In vitro, DrHU organises supercoiled plasmid DNA into regular 2D lattices of double-spirals, while in situ, UV-C light induces a nucleoid transition from a loose DNA mesh to a blue liquid crystalline phase characterised by DNA swirls. The striking structural similarity and shared inter-filament spacing of these two arrangements suggests that DrHU plays a pivotal role in genome organisation through its versatile binding properties that enable DNA loop stabilisation, protection and DNA bridging, linking molecular interactions to 3D genome ordering and stress-induced remodelling.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 12,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Harald Bernhard"
    },
    {
      "name": "Salvatore de Bonis"
    },
    {
      "name": "Anne-Sophie Banneville"
    },
    {
      "name": "Maria Bacia-Verloop"
    },
    {
      "name": "Lorenzo Gaifas"
    },
    {
      "name": "Brandon Le Bon"
    },
    {
      "name": "Georg Wolff"
    },
    {
      "name": "Michael Hall"
    },
    {
      "name": "Roy Gonzalez-Aleman"
    },
    {
      "name": "Francois Dehez"
    },
    {
      "name": "Irina Gutsche"
    },
    {
      "name": "Joanna Timmins"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1p1w3r16nnjzq.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": null,
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "1p1w3r16nnjzq",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://hal.science/hal-05847956v1",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "hal",
      "0.sdv"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": null,
  "pdf_url": "https://hal.science/hal-05847956/document",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-08-18",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1p1w3r16nnjzq.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-03T12:20:17Z",
      "native_id": "hal-05847956",
      "source": "hal",
      "url": "https://hal.science/hal-05847956v1"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "hal:0.sdv",
      "subfield": "general"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Deinococcus radiodurans HU: a versatile architect of nucleoid structure and plasticity",
  "title_text": "Deinococcus radiodurans HU: a versatile architect of nucleoid structure and plasticity",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-04T12:20:47Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1p1w3r16nnjzq",
  "venue": "HAL",
  "versions": []
}