Abstract
Duplication of the bacterial nucleoid is necessary for cell division hence specific arrest of DNA replication inhibits divisions culminating in filamentation, nucleoid dispersion and appearance of a-nucleated cells. It is demonstrated here that during the first 10 min however, Escherichia coli enhanced residual divisions: the proportion of constricted cells doubled (to 40%), nucleoids contracted and cells remodelled dimensions: length decreased and width increased. The preliminary data provides further support to the existence of temporal and spatial couplings between the nucleoid/replisome and the sacculus/divisome, and is consistent with the idea that bacillary bacteria modulate width during the division process exclusively.
Highlights
One of the classical modes to inhibit DNA replication in bacteria is by depriving thymine of thyA mutants, deprivation that gradually stops divisions and is associated with filamentation [1, 2], culminating in loss of colony-forming ability namely thymine-less death [3, 4]
To test whether the enhanced divisions early during thymine deprivation is related to a peculiarity of strain K12 MG1693, the experiment was repeated with two other strains of E. coli, CR34 (K-12) and 15 TAU-b ar, with similar responses (Fig. 2)
These results demonstrate that thymine starvation enhances cell division before the following inhibition under long- term treatments
Summary
One of the classical modes to inhibit DNA replication in bacteria is by depriving thymine of thyA mutants, deprivation that gradually stops divisions and is associated with filamentation [1, 2], culminating in loss of colony-forming ability namely thymine-less death [3, 4]. Important events such as aborted initiations were recently identified during the first minutes of treatment [5], triggering us to investigate cell and nucleoid dimensions in an attempt to detect possible changes during the immediate period after imposing thymine starvation
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