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08:02
Synchronization of Caulobacter Crescentus for Investigation of the Bacterial Cell Cycle
Published on: April 8, 2015
Tightly regulated and heritable division control in single bacterial cells
Dan Siegal-Gaskins1, Sean Crosson
1Department of Physics, and The Committee on Microbiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA.
Biophysical Journal
|May 13, 2008
Summary
Caulobacter crescentus exhibits precise cell division timing, crucial for understanding bacterial cell cycle control. This aquatic bacterium
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Cell Biology
- Systems Biology
Background:
- Caulobacter crescentus is an aquatic bacterium known for its surface adherence.
- Studying bacterial cell division is essential for understanding microbial growth and proliferation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the cell cycle control network of Caulobacter crescentus at the single-cell level.
- To investigate the role of DivJ in regulating cell division timing and cell elongation.
- To explore the potential epigenetic inheritance of cell division behavior.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a linear microfluidic culture chamber for long-term, single-cell visualization of Caulobacter crescentus.
- Monitored cell growth and division rates across multiple generations.
- Employed transposon mutagenesis to study the function of the DivJ regulator.
Main Results:
- Caulobacter crescentus demonstrated a faster division rate in microfluidic culture, independent of flow velocity.
- The cell cycle control network produced an oscillatory output with exceptionally low variation in interdivision timing.
- Disruption of DivJ significantly increased variation in interdivision time and cell elongation rate.
- A correlation between mother and daughter cell division timing and arrest suggests epigenetic inheritance.
Conclusions:
- The cell cycle of Caulobacter crescentus exhibits remarkable precision and heritable characteristics.
- DivJ is critical for maintaining low variance in cell division timing.
- Future models of Caulobacter cell cycle regulation should incorporate variance and inheritance properties.
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