{"author":[{"id":"b4eb62ef-ac72-11ed-9503-ed3b4d66c083","orcid":"0000-0002-3461-5391","last_name":"Springstein","full_name":"Springstein, Benjamin L","first_name":"Benjamin L"},{"orcid":"0000-0003-2311-2112","id":"305ab18b-dc7d-11ea-9b2f-b58195228ea2","last_name":"Javoor","full_name":"Javoor, Manjunath","first_name":"Manjunath"},{"last_name":"Megrian","first_name":"Daniela","full_name":"Megrian, Daniela"},{"last_name":"Hajdu","full_name":"Hajdu, Roman","first_name":"Roman","id":"ffab949d-133f-11ed-8f02-94de21ace503"},{"last_name":"Hanke","full_name":"Hanke, Dustin M.","first_name":"Dustin M."},{"last_name":"Zens","first_name":"Bettina","full_name":"Zens, Bettina","id":"45FD126C-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87","orcid":"0000-0002-9561-1239"},{"last_name":"Weiss","full_name":"Weiss, Gregor L.","first_name":"Gregor L."},{"last_name":"Schur","first_name":"Florian Km","full_name":"Schur, Florian Km","id":"48AD8942-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87","orcid":"0000-0003-4790-8078"},{"last_name":"Loose","first_name":"Martin","full_name":"Loose, Martin","id":"462D4284-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87","orcid":"0000-0001-7309-9724"}],"ec_funded":1,"date_published":"2026-04-16T00:00:00Z","publisher":"AAAS","title":"Repurposing of a DNA segregation machinery into a cytoskeletal system controlling cell shape","language":[{"iso":"eng"}],"publication_status":"published","volume":392,"intvolume":"       392","acknowledged_ssus":[{"_id":"Bio"},{"_id":"ScienComp"},{"_id":"EM-Fac"},{"_id":"LifeSc"}],"status":"public","publication":"Science","doi":"10.1126/science.aea6343","external_id":{"pmid":["41990175"]},"month":"04","scopus_import":"1","issue":"6795","project":[{"grant_number":"101034413","name":"IST-BRIDGE: International postdoctoral program","_id":"fc2ed2f7-9c52-11eb-aca3-c01059dda49c","call_identifier":"H2020"},{"_id":"bd980d18-d553-11ed-ba76-ceaa645c97eb","name":"A molecular atlas of Actin filament IDentities in the cell motility machinery","grant_number":"101076260"}],"user_id":"2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87","corr_author":"1","type":"journal_article","year":"2026","department":[{"_id":"MaLo"},{"_id":"FlSc"},{"_id":"GradSch"},{"_id":"EM-Fac"}],"date_updated":"2026-04-28T13:29:05Z","acknowledgement":"We thank all members of the Loose lab at ISTA for helpful discussions; M. Kojic for critical reading of the manuscript; A. Herrero (Sevilla University) for sharing her extensive BACTH plasmid library and other plasmids, as well as cyanobacterial strains; T. Dagan and F. Nies (both Kiel University) for sharing cyanobacterial strains and plasmids and for valuable discussions; N. Sapay and A. Michon for providing the Amphipaseek code, which enabled us to perform our large-scale amphipathic helix screen of cyanobacterial CorR proteins; V.-V. Hodirnau for support in cryo-ET data collection; and J. Hansen for advice about cryo-EM data processing.\r\nThis work was supported by the Scientific Service Units (SSU) of ISTA through resources provided by the Imaging & Optics Facility (IOF), the Scientific Computing (SciComp), the Electron Microscopy Facility (EMF), and the Lab Support Facility (LSF). This work was funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant 101034413 to B.L.S.); the European Research Council (ERC) of the European Union (grant ActinID 101076260 to F.K.M.S.); the Swiss National Science Foundation (starting grant TMSGI3_226208 to G.L.W.); and the Jean-Jacques et Letitia Lopez-Loreta Foundation (G.L.W.).","abstract":[{"lang":"eng","text":"Bacteria, like eukaryotes, use conserved cytoskeletal systems for intracellular organization. The plasmid-encoded ParMRC system forms actin-like filaments that segregate low–copy number plasmids. In multicellular cyanobacteria such as Anabaena sp., we found that a chromosomally encoded ParMR system has evolved into a cytoskeletal system named CorMR with a function in cell shape control rather than DNA segregation. Live-cell imaging, in vitro reconstitution, and cryo–electron microscopy revealed that CorM formed dynamically unstable, antiparallel double-stranded filaments that were recruited to the membrane by CorR through an amphipathic helix conserved in multicellular cyanobacteria. CorMR filaments were regulated by MinC, which excluded them from the poles and division plane. Comparative genomics indicated that the repurposing of ParMR and Min systems coevolved with cyanobacterial multicellularity, highlighting the evolutionary plasticity of cytoskeletal systems in bacteria."}],"quality_controlled":"1","_id":"21762","date_created":"2026-04-26T22:01:46Z","article_number":"eaea6343","article_type":"original","day":"16","oa_version":"None","pmid":1,"OA_type":"closed access","publication_identifier":{"eissn":["1095-9203"],"issn":["0036-8075"]},"article_processing_charge":"No","citation":{"ama":"Springstein BL, Javoor M, Megrian D, et al. Repurposing of a DNA segregation machinery into a cytoskeletal system controlling cell shape. <i>Science</i>. 2026;392(6795). doi:<a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aea6343\">10.1126/science.aea6343</a>","ista":"Springstein BL, Javoor M, Megrian D, Hajdu R, Hanke DM, Zens B, Weiss GL, Schur FK, Loose M. 2026. Repurposing of a DNA segregation machinery into a cytoskeletal system controlling cell shape. Science. 392(6795), eaea6343.","mla":"Springstein, Benjamin L., et al. “Repurposing of a DNA Segregation Machinery into a Cytoskeletal System Controlling Cell Shape.” <i>Science</i>, vol. 392, no. 6795, eaea6343, AAAS, 2026, doi:<a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aea6343\">10.1126/science.aea6343</a>.","ieee":"B. L. Springstein <i>et al.</i>, “Repurposing of a DNA segregation machinery into a cytoskeletal system controlling cell shape,” <i>Science</i>, vol. 392, no. 6795. AAAS, 2026.","chicago":"Springstein, Benjamin L, Manjunath Javoor, Daniela Megrian, Roman Hajdu, Dustin M. Hanke, Bettina Zens, Gregor L. Weiss, Florian KM Schur, and Martin Loose. “Repurposing of a DNA Segregation Machinery into a Cytoskeletal System Controlling Cell Shape.” <i>Science</i>. AAAS, 2026. <a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aea6343\">https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aea6343</a>.","apa":"Springstein, B. L., Javoor, M., Megrian, D., Hajdu, R., Hanke, D. M., Zens, B., … Loose, M. (2026). Repurposing of a DNA segregation machinery into a cytoskeletal system controlling cell shape. <i>Science</i>. AAAS. <a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aea6343\">https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aea6343</a>","short":"B.L. Springstein, M. Javoor, D. Megrian, R. Hajdu, D.M. Hanke, B. Zens, G.L. Weiss, F.K. Schur, M. Loose, Science 392 (2026)."}}