AUTHOR=Gangwe Nana Ghislain Y. , Ripoll Camille , Cabin-Flaman Armelle , Gibouin David , Delaune Anthony , Janniere Laurent , Grancher Gerard , Chagny Gaelle , Loutelier-Bourhis Corinne , Lentzen Esther , Grysan Patrick , Audinot Jean-Nicolas , Norris Vic 

TITLE=Division-Based, Growth Rate Diversity in Bacteria

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2018

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2018.00849

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2018.00849

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>To investigate the nature and origins of growth rate diversity in bacteria, we grew <italic>Escherichia coli</italic> and <italic>Bacillus subtilis</italic> in liquid minimal media and, after different periods of <sup>15</sup>N-labeling, analyzed and imaged isotope distributions in individual cells with <italic>Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry</italic>. We find a striking inter- and intra-cellular diversity, even in steady state growth. This is consistent with the strand-dependent, hyperstructure-based hypothesis that a major function of the cell cycle is to generate coherent, growth rate diversity via the semi-conservative pattern of inheritance of strands of DNA and associated macromolecular assemblies. We also propose quantitative, general, measures of growth rate diversity for studies of cell physiology that include antibiotic resistance.</p>