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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Ling Juan Wu, Dr Seoungjun Lee, Sungshic Park, Dr Lucy Eland, Professor Anil Wipat, Dr Seamus Holden, Professor Jeff ErringtonORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
© 2020, The Author(s). Many bacteria can form wall-deficient variants, or L-forms, that divide by a simple mechanism that does not require the FtsZ-based cell division machinery. Here, we use microfluidic systems to probe the growth, chromosome cycle and division mechanism of Bacillus subtilis L-forms. We find that forcing cells into a narrow linear configuration greatly improves the efficiency of cell growth and chromosome segregation. This reinforces the view that L-form division is driven by an excess accumulation of surface area over volume. Cell geometry also plays a dominant role in controlling the relative positions and movement of segregating chromosomes. Furthermore, the presence of the nucleoid appears to influence division both via a cell volume effect and by nucleoid occlusion, even in the absence of FtsZ. Our results emphasise the importance of geometric effects for a range of crucial cell functions, and are of relevance for efforts to develop artificial or minimal cell systems.
Author(s): Wu LJ, Lee S, Park S, Eland LE, Wipat A, Holden S, Errington J
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Nature Communications
Year: 2020
Volume: 11
Issue: 1
Online publication date: 18/08/2020
Acceptance date: 24/07/2020
Date deposited: 16/10/2020
ISSN (electronic): 2041-1723
Publisher: Nature Research
URL: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-17988-7
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-17988-7
PubMed id: 32811832
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