Extracellular DNA-protein interactions

Abstract

Intracellular DNA primarily serves as the cellular genetic material both in eukaryotes and prokaryotes. This function is often regulated by alterations in the DNA structure to accommodate transcription, recombination, and DNA replication. Extracellularly, both eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells take advantage of DNA plenty in addition to a permissive environment and create novel structures to fulfill multiple new roles. As often occurs intracellularly, extracellular DNA requires proteins to facilitate and stabilize these important structures. Here I review, both host and eubacterial nucleoprotein structures, their composition, their functions, and how these distinct structures can interact. Even at this early stage of study, it is clear that extracellular chromatin plays important biological roles in the survival of both prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms.