How does a Bacillus split its septum right down the middle?
This is a speculative paper which considers the possible ways that Gram-positive cells might employ to achieve an even thickness of the two daughter poles resulting from the fission of the cross-wall. The first is that the protonmotive force generated by the extrusion of protons at the cytoplasmic membrane acts to inhibit autolysins to a distance of about 25 nm. The second has to do with the stresses that develop as the poles form. On the tacit assumption that the autolysins will function faster when their substrates are under tension, it is shown how this, too, can lead to even bisection of the cross-wall. These possibilities are not alternative, both probably function.
D001407:Bacillus / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D002455:Cell Division; D002473:Cell Wall / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D008954:Models, Biological