Feedback linking cell envelope stiffness, curvature, and synthesis enables robust rod-shaped bacterial growth.

ABSTRACT: Bacterial growth is remarkably robust to environmental fluctuations, yet the mechanisms of growth-rate homeostasis are poorly understood. Here, we combine theory and experiment to infer mechanisms by which Escherichia coli adapts its growth rate in response to changes in osmolarity, a fundamental physicochemical property of the environment. The central tenet of our theoretical model is that cell-envelope expansion is only sensitive to local information, such as enzyme concentrations, cell-envelope curvature, and mechanical strain in the envelope. We constrained this model with quantitative measurements of the dynamics of E. coli elongation rate and cell width after hyperosmotic shock. Our analysis demonstrated that adaptive cell-envelope softening is a key process underlying

SUBMITTER: Al-Mosleh S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9564212 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature