In a dividing cell, DNA must be replicated and accurately partitioned between the two daughter cells. In eukaryotes, microtubules, which are linked to the centromeric DNA by kineto-chores, separate the replicated chromosomes with the help of motor proteins. Prokaryotic plasmid-partitioning systems are similar in that they involve an adaptor protein that links DNA to a filament-forming protein; however, no motor proteins are involved, and nucleotide-hydrolysis dependent filament dynamics are responsible for movement. To gain insight into the segregation of the Bacillus thuringiensis pBToxis plasmid, Aylett et al.
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