Data supporting 'Subdiffusion of loci and cytoplasmic particles are different in compressed E. coli cells'

The complex physical nature of the bacterial intracellular environment remains largely unknown, and has relevance for key biochemical and biological processes of the cell. While recent work has addressed the role of non-equilibrium drives and crowding, the consequences of mechanical perturbations are relatively less explored.We have used a microfabricated valve system to track both fluorescently labeled chromosomal loci and cytoplasmic particles in E.~coli cells shortly after the application of a compressive force on time scales that are too sudden to allow for biochemical response from the cell. While cytoplasmic diffusion is slowed down significantly under compression, the mobility of DNA loci is much less affected. These results suggest that the dynamics of the bacterial chromosome are decoupled from the viscoelastic environment of the cytoplasm under such short time scales, and that DNA elasticity and nucleoid organization play a more important role in loci subdiffusion than cytoplasmic viscoelasticity.