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Related Concept Videos

Cell Size01:22

Cell Size

Cell sizes vary widely among and within organisms. Bacterial cells range between 1-10 micrometers (μm)and are considerably smaller than most eukaryotic cells. The smallest bacteria are 0.1 μm in diameter—about a thousand times smaller than eukaryotic cells, which typically range from 10-100 μm.Surface AreaCells can take in nutrients and water via diffusion through the plasma membrane itself or through specific channels in the membrane. The area of the membrane surrounding the cells limits the...
Protein Diffusion in the Membrane01:24

Protein Diffusion in the Membrane

Proteins show rotational as well as lateral diffusion across the membrane. The lateral diffusion of proteins was confirmed through the cell fusion experiment where mouse and human cells were fused, resulting in hybrid cells. When the human and mouse cells fused, the specific membrane proteins on human and mouse cells were marked with the red and green-fluorescent markers, respectively. Initially, the red and green fluorescence was located on the respective hemisphere of the cell. As time...
Cells Coordinate Growth and Proliferation02:36

Cells Coordinate Growth and Proliferation

Cell size is a significant factor impacting cellular design, function, and fitness. There exists some internal coordination by which cells double their masses before division, thus, achieving homeostasis. Coordination between cell growth and proliferation depends on the checkpoints in between cell cycle phases. Loss of coordination or failure in the checkpoint mechanism can drive the cell to uncontrolled growth and loss of cellular function. Like dividing cells that coordinate cellular growth,...
Microbial Morphologies01:29

Microbial Morphologies

Bacterial and archaeal cells exhibit remarkable diversity in shape and structure, critical in their adaptability and functionality. Among bacteria, the most commonly observed shapes include cocci and bacilli. Cocci are spherical and may exist singly or in groupings such as pairs (diplococci), chains (streptococci), clusters (staphylococci), or tetrads. Bacilli, in contrast, are rod-shaped and can also occur as single cells, in pairs, or chains, depending on their environmental and genetic...
Evolutionary Processes in Microbes01:26

Evolutionary Processes in Microbes

Microbial evolution occurs rapidly due to short generation times and a variety of genetic processes, including horizontal gene transfer, mutation, recombination, and genetic drift. These mechanisms collectively enable microbes to adapt swiftly to changing environments.Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) allows genes to move between different species and occurs through three main mechanisms: conjugation, transformation, and transduction. Conjugation involves direct cell-to-cell contact for DNA...
Evolution of New Traits in Microbes01:24

Evolution of New Traits in Microbes

Microorganisms evolve rapidly due to their large population sizes and short generation times, often exhibiting measurable changes within days under laboratory conditions. Natural selection acts on standing genetic variation, enabling the retention and amplification of beneficial traits that confer fitness advantages in changing environments.Adaptive Pigment Regulation in RhodobacterIn Rhodobacter, a genus of purple non-sulfur bacteria, light-harvesting pigments such as bacteriochlorophyll and...

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Monitoring Intraspecies Competition in a Bacterial Cell Population by Cocultivation of Fluorescently Labelled Strains
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The evolution of bacterial cell size: the internal diffusion-constraint hypothesis.

Romain Gallet1,2, Cyrille Violle1, Nathalie Fromin1

  • 1CEFE UMR 5175, CNRS, Université de Montpellier, Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier, EPHE, Montpellier Cedex 5, France.

The ISME Journal
|April 5, 2017
PubMed
Summary

Cell size in bacteria evolved to be larger over time, challenging existing theories. A new internal diffusion-constraint hypothesis explains this by linking larger cell volume to faster metabolism and growth.

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Microbial Ecology
  • Cellular Physiology

Background:

  • Body size is a critical trait in ecology and evolution, yet its drivers in unicellular organisms remain poorly understood.
  • The Lenski long-term evolution experiment (LTEE) with Escherichia coli shows increasing cell size alongside growth rate and fitness, contradicting external diffusion theory (EDC).

Purpose of the Study:

  • To propose and test the 'internal diffusion-constraint' (IDC) hypothesis as an alternative explanation for cell size evolution in unicellulars.
  • To investigate how changes in cell volume affect metabolite concentrations and metabolic rates.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of a specific population from Lenski's long-term evolution experiment (LTEE).
  • Measurement of cell size, growth rate, CO2 production, and mass-to-volume ratio over evolutionary time.

Main Results:

  • Bigger cells with higher growth and CO2 production rates were selected over time in the LTEE.
  • A lower mass-to-volume ratio was observed in larger cells, indicating increased metabolic efficiency.
  • These findings support the IDC hypothesis, which posits that increased cell volume reduces molecular traffic time, enhancing metabolism.

Conclusions:

  • The internal diffusion-constraint (IDC) hypothesis provides a novel framework for understanding cell size evolution in unicellular organisms.
  • Evolutionary selection favored larger cell sizes in E. coli under specific laboratory conditions, driven by metabolic efficiency gains.