A sweet sensor for size-conscious bacteria.
Bacteria, like eukaryotic cells, regulate their size by coordinating cell growth and division, growing faster and becoming larger when nutrients are more plentiful. Weart et al. (2007) now identify an enzyme in a glucolipid pathway that inhibits assembly of the key cell division protein FtsZ, but only during high nutrient conditions. Delaying cell division during rapid growth allows bacterial cells to become larger.
Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Texas Medical School, 6431 Fannin Street, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
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D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000166:cytology* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002455:Cell Division; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D004261:DNA Replication; D005502:Food
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; C071525:FtsZ protein, Bacteria