Physics
Curvature and shape determination of growing bacteria
Document Type
Article
Abstract
Bacterial cells come in a variety of shapes, determined by the stress-bearing cell wall. Though many molecular details about the cell wall are known, our understanding of how a particular shape is produced during cell growth is at its infancy. Experiments on curved Escherichia coli grown in microtraps, and on naturally curved Caulobacter crescentus, reveal different modes of growth: one preserving arc length and the other preserving radius of curvature. We present a simple model for curved cell growth that relates these two growth modes to distinct but related growth rules-"hooplike growth" and "self-similar growth"-and discuss the implications for microscopic growth mechanisms. © 2009 The American Physical Society.
Publication Title
Physical Review E - Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics
Publication Date
12-17-2009
Volume
80
Issue
6
ISSN
1539-3755
DOI
10.1103/PhysRevE.80.062901
Keywords
bacteriology, cell growth, Escherichia coli
Repository Citation
Mukhopadhyay, Ranjan and Wingreen, Ned S., "Curvature and shape determination of growing bacteria" (2009). Physics. 156.
https://commons.clarku.edu/faculty_physics/156
