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Updated: Feb 15, 2026

Super-resolution Imaging of the Bacterial Division Machinery
Published on: January 21, 2013
Probing the mechanistic principles of bacterial cell division with super-resolution microscopy
1Centre for Bacterial Cell Biology, Institute for Cell and Molecular Biosciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4AX, UK.
Abstract:
Bacterial cell division takes place almost entirely below the diffraction limit of light microscopy, making super-resolution microscopy ideally suited to interrogating this process. I review how super-resolution microscopy has advanced our understanding of bacterial cell division. I discuss the mechanistic implications of these findings, propose physical models for cell division compatible with recent data, and discuss key outstanding questions and future research directions.
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