Self-organized partitioning of dynamically localized proteins in bacterial cell division.

ABSTRACT: How cells manage to get equal distribution of their structures and molecules at cell division is a crucial issue in biology. In principle, a feedback mechanism could always ensure equality by measuring and correcting the distribution in the progeny. However, an elegant alternative could be a mechanism relying on self-organization, with the interplay between system properties and cell geometry leading to the emergence of equal partitioning. The problem is exemplified by the bacterial Min system that defines the division site by oscillating from pole to pole. Unequal partitioning of Min proteins at division could negatively impact system performance and cell growth because of loss of Min oscillations and imprecise mid-cell determination. In this study, we combine live cell and computational

SUBMITTER: Di Ventura B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3049411 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature