Sister chromatid junctions in the hyperthermophilic archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus.

Although the Archaea exhibit an intriguing combination of bacterial- and eukaryotic-like features, it is not known how these prokaryotic cells segregate their chromosomes before the process of cell division. In the course of our analysis of the third replication origin in the archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus, we identify and characterise sister chromatid junctions in this prokaryote. This pairing appears to be mediated by hemicatenane-like structures, and we provide evidence that these junctions persist in both replicating and postreplicative cells. These data, in conjunction with fluorescent in situ hybridisation analyses, suggest that Sulfolobus chromosomes have a significant period of postreplicative sister chromatid synapsis, a situation that is more reminiscent of eukaryotic than bacterial chromosome segregation mechanisms.