[Relation of DNA replication and cell division frequency in a population of microorganisms to the cell growth rate]

DNA replication and the frequency of cell division were studied in a microbial population in relation to the rate of cell growth. The relationship is based on the law of cell biomass linear increase during the cell cycle and on the exponential law of mean cell mass increase, and depends on the specific rate of population growth. The cell mass in the initiation of DNA replication is correlated with the number of initiation points basing on the Cooper-Helmstetter theory of DNA replication and taking account of the linear growth of mass in one cell. Possible applications of these relationships are discussed.