title: "Division potential" in Escherichia coli.
abstract: The phenotype of a minC mutant has been reexamined and found to correspond closely to the quantitative predictions of Teather et al. (R. M. Teather, J. F. Collins, and W. D. Donachie, J. Bacteriol. 118:407-413, 1974). We confirm that the number of septa formed per generation per cell length is fixed and independent of the number of available division sites and that "division potential" is directly proportional to cell length. In the minC mutant, septa form with equal probabilities at cell poles, cell centers, and cell quarters. In addition, we show that the time to next division is inversely related to cell length while division is asynchronous in long cells, suggesting that a single cell can form only one septum at a time.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Edinburgh, Scotland. William.Donachie@ed.ac.uk
authors.forename: W D
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Donachie
authors.forename: K J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Begg
mesh_terms: D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D002455:Cell Division; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000166:cytology* / Q000235:genetics*; D009154:Mutation; D012044:Regression Analysis; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; C080466:MinC protein, Bacteria