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Updated: Jul 9, 2025

Determination of the Optimal Chromosomal Locations for a DNA Element in Escherichia coli Using a Novel Transposon-mediated Approach
Published on: September 11, 2017
Nutritional control of bacterial DNA replication
Joel Hallgren1, Kristina Jonas1
1Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute, Science for Life Laboratory, Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden.
Abstract:
All cells must ensure precise regulation of DNA replication initiation in coordination with growth rate and in response to nutrient availability. According to a long-standing model, DNA replication initiation is tightly coupled to cell mass increase in bacteria. Despite controversies regarding this model, recent studies have provided additional support of this idea. The exact molecular mechanisms linking cell growth with DNA replication under different nutrient conditions remain elusive. However, recent studies in Caulobacter crescentus and Escherichia coli have provided insights into the regulation of DNA replication initiation in response to starvation. These mechanisms include the starvation-dependent regulation of DnaA abundance as well as mechanisms involving the small signaling molecule (p)ppGpp. In this review, we discuss these mechanisms in the context of previous findings. We highlight species-dependent similarities and differences and consider the precise growth conditions, in which the different mechanisms are active.
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