The Escherichia coli cell cycle, cell division and ppGpp: regulation and mechanisms.
The literature demonstrating tight regulation of the Escherichia coli cell cycle is reviewed. Recent evidence is presented indicating that the normal rod cell shape can be abandoned, allowing growth as a coccus, either by increasing the amount of the division proteins FtsZ, FtsA and FtsQ, or by increasing the pool of the nucleotide ppGpp. It is argued that ppGpp may be a cell cycle signal in E. coli.
D'Ari
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Institut Jacques Monod, CNRS, Université Paris 7, Paris, France.
D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000502:physiology*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000166:cytology / Q000254:growth & development*; D006159:Guanosine Tetraphosphate / Q000378:metabolism*; D008957:Models, Genetic
D006159:Guanosine Tetraphosphate