Abstract
High-level expression offtsA, an essential cell division gene inEscherichia coli, inhibits cell septation and causes the formation of filaments that develop spherical bulges up to 4 μm in diameter. These bulges may emanate from septation sites, since they were evenly spaced in relation to one another and to the cell poles. Electron microscopic examination of thin sections through the bulged regions reveals large electron-lucent, plate-like regions that appear to originate from the membrane. In addition, these bulging filamentous cells contain more hexosamine per mass than control cells. A model is proposed that the electron-lucent regions observed by electron microscopy are caused by peptidoglycan accumulation stimulated by the overexpression offtsA.
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Wang, H., Henk, M.C. & Gayda, R.C. Overexpression of ftsA induces large bulges at the septal regions inEscherichia coli . Current Microbiology 26, 175–181 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01577374
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01577374