Protein interaction network analysis reveals growth conditions-specific crosstalk between chromosomal DNA replication and other cellular processes in E. coli

E. coli and many other bacterial species can alter their cell cycle according to nutrient availability. Under optimal conditions bacteria grow and divide very fast but they slow down the cell cycle when conditions deteriorate. This adaptability is underlined by mechanisms coordinating cell growth with duplication of genetic material and cell division. Several mechanisms regulating DNA replication process in E. coli have been described with biochemical details so far. Nevertheless we still don’t fully understand the source of remarkable precision that allows bacterial cells to coordinate their growth and chromosome replication. To shed light on regulation of E. coli DNA replication at systemic level, we used affinity purification coupled with mass spectrometry (AP-MS) to characterize protein-protein interactions (PPIs) formed by key E. coli replication proteins, under disparate bacterial growth conditions and phases. We present the resulting dynamic replication protein interaction network (PIN) and highlight links between DNA replication and several cellular processes, like outer membrane synthesis, RNA degradation and modification or starvation response. Importance DNA replication is a vital process, ensuring propagation of genetic material to progeny cells. Despite decades of studies we still don’t fully understand how bacteria coordinate chromosomal DNA duplication with cell growth and cell division under optimal and stressful conditions. At molecular level, regulation of processes, including DNA replication, is often executed through direct protein-protein interactions (PPIs). In this work we present PPIs formed by the key E. coli replication proteins under three different bacterial growth conditions. We show novel PPIs with confirmed impact on chromosomal DNA replication. Our results provide also alternative explanations of genetic interactions uncovered before by others for E . coli replication machinery.