1887

Abstract

The shapes of many prokaryotes can be understood by the assumption that the cell wall expands in response to tension created by the osmotically derived hydrostatic pressure. Different organisms have different shapes because wall growth takes place in different regions. A previous paper ( Koch et al., 1981 ) considered the simplest case of prokaryotic growth, i.e. that of . In the present paper, an elaboration of this theory is applied to two further cases - the more perfectly spherical cocci and the rod-shaped bacteria. These cases are more complex mathematically, because growth over a considerable fraction of the surface must be considered. Such diffuse growth cannot be treated analytically, but can be simulated on a computer or handled by geometric arguments.

The spherical form of the cocci may result from either diffuse growth over their entire external surface, or from zonal growth in which the addition of new material only occurs in the immediate vicinity of the splitting septum. In the zonal model, it must be assumed that the least amount of previously laid down septal peptidoglycan consistent with wall growth is reworked in the formation of the new external wall. For Gram-positive rods, where the body of the rod is truly cylindrical, three kinds of growth zones are required: (1) the inward edge of the ingrowing septum, (2) the junction of septum and nascent pole, and (3) the cylindrical walls. Two modes for cylindrical elongation are possible: (a) new wall is added in one or a few narrow annular zones, or (b) new wall material is added continuously all over the innermost surface and the outer layer is degraded. It is shown that the latter case applies to .

Also summarized in this paper are results, developed in more detail elsewhere, concerning the morphology of fusiform bacteria, Gram-negative rods and the hyphal tips of fungi.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journal/micro/10.1099/00221287-128-5-927
1982-05-01
2024-03-28
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

/deliver/fulltext/micro/128/5/mic-128-5-927.html?itemId=/content/journal/micro/10.1099/00221287-128-5-927&mimeType=html&fmt=ahah

References

  1. Anderson A. J., Green R. S., Sturman A. J., Archibald A. R. 1978; Cell wall assembly in Bacillus subtilis: location of wall material incorporated during pulse release of phosphate limitation; its accessibility to bacteriophages and con- canavalin A, and its susceptibility to turnover. Journal of Bacteriology 136:886–899
    [Google Scholar]
  2. Archibald A. R. 1976; Cell wall assembly in Bacillus subtilis: development of bacteriophage binding properties as a result of the pulsed incorporation of teichoic acid. Journal of Bacteriology 127:956–960
    [Google Scholar]
  3. Archibald A. R., Coapes H. E. 1976; Bacteriophage SP50 as a marker for cell wall growth in Bacillus subtilis. Journal of Bacteriology 125:1195–1206
    [Google Scholar]
  4. Burdett I. D. J., Higgins M. L. 1978; Studies of pole assembly in Bacillus subtilis by computer reconstruction of septal growth zones seen in central, longitudinal, thin sections of cells. Journal of Bacteriology 133:959–971
    [Google Scholar]
  5. Casjens S., King J. 1975; Virus assembly. Annual Review of Biochemistry 44:555–611
    [Google Scholar]
  6. Daneo-Moore L., Shockman G. D. 1977; The bacterial cell surface in growth and division. In The Synthesis, Assembly and Turnover of Cell Surface Components pp. 597–715 Edited by Poste G., Nicolson G. L. Amsterdam: Elsevier/North Holland;
    [Google Scholar]
  7. Delaunay C. 1841; Sur la surface de révolution dont la courbure moyenne est constant. Journal de mathématiquespures et appliquées 6:309–315
    [Google Scholar]
  8. Doyle R. J., Streips U. N., Imada S., Fan V. S. C., Brown W. C. 1980; Genetic transformation with cell wall-associated deoxyribonucleic acid in Bacillus subtilis. Journal of Bacteriology 144:957–966
    [Google Scholar]
  9. Doyle R. J., Mobley H. L. T., Streips U. N., Jolliffe L. K. 1981; Restricted turnover of the walls of Bacillus subtilis. Current Microbiology 5:19–22
    [Google Scholar]
  10. Fan D. P., Beckman B. E., Gardner-Eckstrom H. L. 1975; Mode of cell wall synthesis in gram-positive bacteria. Journal of Bacteriology 123:1157–1162
    [Google Scholar]
  11. Giesbrecht P., Wecke J., Reinicke B. 1976; On the morphogenesis of the cell wall of staphylococci. International Review of Cytology 44:225–318
    [Google Scholar]
  12. Isenberg C. 1978 The Science of Soap Films and Soap Bubbles Bridgewater: Advanced Educational Toys, Ltd.;
    [Google Scholar]
  13. Jacob F., Brenner S., Cuzin F. 1963; On the regulation of DNA replication in bacteria. Cold Spring Harbor Symposia on Quantitative Biology 28:329–347
    [Google Scholar]
  14. Koch A. L. 1982a; The shape of the hyphal tips of fungi. Journal of General Microbiology 128:947–951
    [Google Scholar]
  15. Koch A. L. 1982b; On the growth and form of Escherichia coli. Journal of General Microbiology 128: in the Press
    [Google Scholar]
  16. Koch A. L., Higgins M. L., Doyle R. J. 1981a; Surface tension-like forces determine bacterial shapes: Streptococcus faecium. Journal of General Microbiology 123:151–161
    [Google Scholar]
  17. Koch A. L., Mobley H. L. T., Doyle R. J., Streips U. N. 1981b; The coupling of wall growth and chromosome replication in Gram positive rods. FEMS Microbiology Letters 12:201–208
    [Google Scholar]
  18. Laplace P. S. 1806 Mécanique Céleste Paris: Imprimeur Imperiale; Supplement to the tenth book
    [Google Scholar]
  19. Maxwell J. C. 1849; On the theory of rolling curves. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 16:519–540
    [Google Scholar]
  20. Maxwell J. C. 1927; Capillary action. Reprinted in The Scientific Papers of James Clerk Maxwell 2 pp. 541–591 Paris: Libraire Scientifique, J. Hermann;
    [Google Scholar]
  21. Mendelson N. H. 1976; Helical growth of Bacillus subtilis: a new model of cell growth. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 731740–1744
    [Google Scholar]
  22. Pooley H. M. 1976a; Turnover and spreading of old wall during surface growth of Bacillus subtilis. Journal of Bacteriology 125:1127–1138
    [Google Scholar]
  23. Pooley H. M. 1976b; Layered distribution according to age within the cell wall of Bacillus subtilis. Journal of Bacteriology 125:1139–1147
    [Google Scholar]
  24. Sturman A. J., Archibald A. R. 1978; Conservation of phage receptor material at the polar caps of Bacillus subtilis W23. FEMS Microbiology Letters 4:255–259
    [Google Scholar]
  25. Thompson D, D’Arcy W. 1942 On Growth and Form, 2nd edn. pp. 351–384Cambridge Cambridge University Press;
    [Google Scholar]
  26. Trueba F. J., Woldringh C. L. 1980; Changes in cell diameter during the division cycle of Escherichia coli. Journal of Bacteriology 142:869–878
    [Google Scholar]
  27. Young T. 1805; Cohesion of fluids. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society 95:65–87
    [Google Scholar]
http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/journal/micro/10.1099/00221287-128-5-927
Loading
/content/journal/micro/10.1099/00221287-128-5-927
Loading

Data & Media loading...

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error