Shape determination in Bacillus subtilis
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 10, 2026

Single-cell Analysis of Bacillus subtilis Biofilms Using Fluorescence Microscopy and Flow Cytometry
Published on: February 15, 2012
Rut Carballido-López1, Alex Formstone
1Génétique Microbienne, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, 78352 Jouy-en-Josas Cedex, France. rut.carballido-lopez@jouy.inra.fr
Abstract:
The discovery of cytoskeletal elements in prokaryotes has dramatically changed the way we think about bacterial cell morphogenesis. The rod shape of Bacillus subtilis is maintained by the two major polymers (peptidoglycan and teichoic acids) of its thick cell wall and determined by the way these are inserted during growth. The current view is that the dynamic tubulin-like (FtsZ) and actin-like (MreB) cytoskeletons orchestrate, both in time and space, the assembly of macromolecular machineries that effect cell wall synthesis and hydrolysis during cell division and cell elongation, respectively.
Related Concept Videos
Microbial Morphologies
Cytoskeletal Proteins in Bacteria
Bacterial Phylum Actinobacteria
Flagella and Motility in Bacteria
Gene Regulation During Sporulation
Fimbriae, Pili, and Axial Filaments

