Maintenance of cytoplasmic and membrane densities shapes cellular geometry in Escherichia coli.

ABSTRACT: Microbes precisely control their composition and geometry across diverse growth conditions, yet the mechanisms coordinating these processes remain unclear. Here, we integrate quantitative proteomics, microscopy, and biochemical measurements to reveal a biophysical principle linking these properties in Escherichia coli: cytoplasmic and membrane protein densities maintain a tightly conserved ratio across growth conditions, while the periplasmic density varies. Building on this observation, we develop a mathematical model demonstrating that maintaining this density ratio constrains the surface-to-volume ratio as a nonlinear function of proteome composition, specifically the ribosomal proteome fraction and partitioning between cellular compartments. The model holds under guanosine tetraphospha

SUBMITTER: Chure G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12749242 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature