How and why cells grow as rods

Chang, Fred; Huang, Kerwyn Casey

doi:10.1186/s12915-014-0054-8

Cited by 67 publications

(78 citation statements)

References 108 publications

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“…Cells also come in a variety of shapes, from spheres and rods to spirals and squares. These shapes can be important for many aspects of bacterial life such as motility, growth, predation, and packing within biofilms (2).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

MreB Orientation Correlates with Cell Diameter in Escherichia coli

Ouzounov

Nguyen

Bratton

et al. 2016

Biophysical Journal

127

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Bacteria have remarkably robust cell shape control mechanisms. For example, cell diameter only varies by a few percent across a given population. The bacterial actin homolog, MreB, is necessary for establishment and maintenance of rod shape although the detailed properties of MreB that are important for shape control remained unknown. In this study, we perturb MreB in two ways: by treating cells with the polymerization-inhibiting drug A22 and by creating point mutants in mreB. These perturbations modify the steady-state diameter of cells over a wide range, from 790 5 30 nm to 1700 5 20 nm. To determine which properties of MreB are important for diameter control, we correlated structural characteristics of fluorescently tagged MreB polymers with cell diameter by simultaneously analyzing three-dimensional images of MreB and cell shape. Our results indicate that the helical pitch angle of MreB inversely correlates with the cell diameter of Escherichia coli. Other correlations between MreB and cell diameter are not found to be significant. These results demonstrate that the physical properties of MreB filaments are important for shape control and support a model in which MreB organizes the cell wall growth machinery to produce a chiral cell wall structure and dictate cell diameter.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

MreB Orientation Correlates with Cell Diameter in Escherichia coli

Ouzounov

Nguyen

Bratton

et al. 2016

Biophysical Journal

127

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“…Models for cell morphogenesis postulate that the effects of turgor pressure and mechanical properties of the cell wall can explain the shapes of these diverse cell types [1–6]. However, in general, these models await validation through quantitative experiments.…”

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confidence: 99%

Morphogenesis of the Fission Yeast Cell through Cell Wall Expansion

et al. 2015

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Summary The shape of walled cells such as fungi, bacteria and plants are determined by the cell wall. Models for cell morphogenesis postulate that the effects of turgor pressure and mechanical properties of the cell wall can explain the shapes of these diverse cell types [1–6]. However, in general, these models await validation through quantitative experiments. Fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe are rod-shaped cells that grow by tip extension and then divide medially through formation of a cell wall septum. Upon cell separation after cytokinesis, the new cell ends adopt a rounded morphology. Here, we show that this shape is generated by a very simple mechanical-based mechanism in which turgor pressure inflates the elastic cell wall in the absence of cell growth. This process is independent of actin and new cell wall synthesis. To model this morphological change, we first estimate the mechanical properties of the cell wall using several approaches. The lateral cell wall behaves as an isotropic elastic material with a Young’s modulus of 50 ± 10 MPa inflated by a turgor pressure estimated to be 1.5 ± 0.2 MPa. Based upon these parameters, we develop a quantitative mechanical-based model for new end formation, which reveals that the cell wall at the new end expands into its characteristic rounded shape in part because it is softer than the mature lateral wall. These studies provide a simple example of how turgor pressure expands the elastic cell wall to generate a particular cell shape.

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“…In this review, we consider the functional consequences of differences in form on bacterial survival in native environments (as opposed to culture flasks of rich media). The work reviewed here builds on pioneering studies and hypotheses described in several excellent reviews on the possible selective consequences of bacterial cell shape diversity (1)(2)(3)(4)(5).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Staying in Shape: the Impact of Cell Shape on Bacterial Survival in Diverse Environments

Yang

Blair

Salama

2016

Microbiol Mol Biol Rev

231

192

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SUMMARYBacteria display an abundance of cellular forms and can change shape during their life cycle. Many plausible models regarding the functional significance of cell morphology have emerged. A greater understanding of the genetic programs underpinning morphological variation in diverse bacterial groups, combined with assays of bacteria under conditions that mimic their varied natural environments, from flowing freshwater streams to diverse human body sites, provides new opportunities to probe the functional significance of cell shape. Here we explore shape diversity among bacteria, at the levels of cell geometry, size, and surface appendages (both placement and number), as it relates to survival in diverse environments. Cell shape in most bacteria is determined by the cell wall. A major challenge in this field has been deconvoluting the effects of differences in the chemical properties of the cell wall and the resulting cell shape perturbations on observed fitness changes. Still, such studies have begun to reveal the selective pressures that drive the diverse forms (or cell wall compositions) observed in mammalian pathogens and bacteria more generally, including efficient adherence to biotic and abiotic surfaces, survival under low-nutrient or stressful conditions, evasion of mammalian complement deposition, efficient dispersal through mucous barriers and tissues, and efficient nutrient acquisition.

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How and why cells grow as rods

Cited by 67 publications

References 108 publications

MreB Orientation Correlates with Cell Diameter in Escherichia coli

MreB Orientation Correlates with Cell Diameter in Escherichia coli

Morphogenesis of the Fission Yeast Cell through Cell Wall Expansion

Staying in Shape: the Impact of Cell Shape on Bacterial Survival in Diverse Environments

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