TY - JOUR
T1 - Cell shape dynamics in Escherichia coli
AU - Reshes, Galina
AU - Vanounou, Sharon
AU - Fishov, Itzhak
AU - Feingold, Mario
PY - 2008/1/1
Y1 - 2008/1/1
N2 - Bacteria are the simplest living organisms. In particular, Escherichia coli has been extensively studied and it has become one of the standard model systems in microbiology. However, optical microscopy studies of single E. coli have been limited by its small size, ∼1 x 3 μm, not much larger than the optical resolution, ∼0.25 μm. As a result, not enough quantitative dynamical information on the life cycle of single E. coli is presently available. We suggest that, by careful analysis of images from phase contrast and fluorescence time-lapse microscopy, this limitation can be bypassed. For example, we show that applying this approach to monitoring morphogenesis in individual E. coli leads to a simple, quantitative description of this process. First, we find the time when the formation of the septum starts, τc. It occurs much earlier than the time when the constriction can be directly observed by phase contrast. Second, we find that the growth law of single cells is more likely bilinear/trilinear than exponential. This is further supported by the relations that hold between the corresponding growth rates. These methods could be further extended to study the dynamics of cell components, e.g., the nucleoid and the Z-ring.
AB - Bacteria are the simplest living organisms. In particular, Escherichia coli has been extensively studied and it has become one of the standard model systems in microbiology. However, optical microscopy studies of single E. coli have been limited by its small size, ∼1 x 3 μm, not much larger than the optical resolution, ∼0.25 μm. As a result, not enough quantitative dynamical information on the life cycle of single E. coli is presently available. We suggest that, by careful analysis of images from phase contrast and fluorescence time-lapse microscopy, this limitation can be bypassed. For example, we show that applying this approach to monitoring morphogenesis in individual E. coli leads to a simple, quantitative description of this process. First, we find the time when the formation of the septum starts, τc. It occurs much earlier than the time when the constriction can be directly observed by phase contrast. Second, we find that the growth law of single cells is more likely bilinear/trilinear than exponential. This is further supported by the relations that hold between the corresponding growth rates. These methods could be further extended to study the dynamics of cell components, e.g., the nucleoid and the Z-ring.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=37749034605&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1529/biophysj.107.104398
DO - 10.1529/biophysj.107.104398
M3 - Article
C2 - 17766333
AN - SCOPUS:37749034605
SN - 0006-3495
VL - 94
SP - 251
EP - 264
JO - Biophysical Journal
JF - Biophysical Journal
IS - 1
ER -