Bacteria come in a range of shapes, including round, rod-shaped, curved and spiral cells.
This morphological diversity implies that different mechanisms exist to guide proper cell …

Binary fission of many prokaryotes as well as some eukaryotic organelles depends on the
FtsZ protein, which self-assembles into a membrane-associated ring structure early in the …

DNA microarrays were used to survey the adaptive genetic responses of Borrelia burgdorferi
(Bb) B31, the Lyme disease spirochete, when grown under conditions analogous to those …

Molecular self-organziation, also regarded as pattern formation, is crucial for the correct
distribution of cellular content. The processes leading to spatiotemporal patterns often …

Selection of the division site in Escherichia coli is regulated by the min system and requires
the rapid oscillation of MinD between the two halves of the cell under the control of MinE. In …

The site of cell division in bacterial cells is placed with high fidelity at a designated position,
usually the midpoint of the cell. In normal cell division in Escherichia coli this is …

MinD is a widely conserved ATPase that has been demonstrated to play a pivotal role in
selection of the division site in eubacteria and chloroplasts. It is a member of the large ParA …

Proper placement of the division apparatus in Escherichia coli requires pole-to-pole
oscillation of the MinC division inhibitor. MinC dynamics involves a membrane association …

MinD is a ubiquitous ATPase that plays a crucial role in selection of the division site in
eubacteria, chloroplasts, and probably also Archaea. It was recently demonstrated that …

In Escherichia coli, the min system prevents division away from midcell through topological
regulation of MinC, an inhibitor of Z-ring formation. The topological regulation involves …