title: Shape determination in Bacillus subtilis.
abstract: The discovery of cytoskeletal elements in prokaryotes has dramatically changed the way we think about bacterial cell morphogenesis. The rod shape of Bacillus subtilis is maintained by the two major polymers (peptidoglycan and teichoic acids) of its thick cell wall and determined by the way these are inserted during growth. The current view is that the dynamic tubulin-like (FtsZ) and actin-like (MreB) cytoskeletons orchestrate, both in time and space, the assembly of macromolecular machineries that effect cell wall synthesis and hydrolysis during cell division and cell elongation, respectively.
authors.affiliation: Génétique Microbienne, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, 78352 Jouy-en-Josas Cedex, France. rut.carballido-lopez@jouy.inra.fr
authors.forename: Rut
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Carballido-López
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Formstone
mesh_terms: D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000166:cytology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000378:metabolism; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D010457:Peptidoglycan / Q000378:metabolism*; D013682:Teichoic Acids / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; D010457:Peptidoglycan; D013682:Teichoic Acids