Conserved Heterochromatin-like Structures with Local Regulators Mediate the Iron Stress Response in Mycobacteria.

Recent studies have demonstrated the importance of dynamic heterochromatin-like regions in bacterial gene regulation, particularly for adaptation to changing environments. Here, we have measured the dynamic regulatory protein-DNA landscape of the tuberculosis vaccine strain, BCG Pasteur, under the pathogenically-relevant condition of iron starvation. Our results capture for the first time the overall protein occupancy landscape of the genome of BCG, identifying extended protein occupancy domains likely composed of diverse sets of nucleoid-associated proteins and transcription factors.