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The cell wall in the growth and cell division of bacteria

  • Chapter
Microbial Cell Walls and Membranes

Abstract

An essential feature of the growth of all microbes is that the individual cells must increase in volume to approximately twice their original size and divide to form two closely similar units. Even small continuous departures in one direction or another from this regulated process, would ultimately lead to grossly abnormal cells. Mechanically strong walls are not the only way of achieving precision in shape replication, as can be seen by the distinct forms adopted by different species of mycoplasmas [88] or, for that matter, by the recognizable different cell types in mammalian tissues. In the growth of some other organisms, however, not having mechanically strong cell walls external to their membranes, variation in size and shape at each division process seems to occur but these variations are, presumably, random since statistically the population still maintains its general morphology and number of living units per unit mass of cells. Wall-less L-forms of bacteria are an example of this and illustrate the importance of the proper formation and growth of bacterial walls to maintain regularity in the replication of shape. L-forms differ from the bacteria from which they are derived by their inability to form peptidoglycan, usually either because of the presence of specific wall-inhibitors in the growth medium or because of genetic lesions in the biosynthetic processes for the formation of this polymer [117].

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  1. Department of Microbiology, National Institute for Medical Research, Mill Hill, UK

    H. J. Rogers (Head) & J. B. Ward

  2. University of Liverpool, UK

    H. R. Perkins (Professor of Microbiology)

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Rogers, H.J., Perkins, H.R., Ward, J.B. (1980). The cell wall in the growth and cell division of bacteria. In: Microbial Cell Walls and Membranes. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-6014-8_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-6014-8_15

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