FtsZ-Induced Shape Transformation of Coacervates

Recently, both the cellular and synthetic biology communities have expressed a strong interest in coacervates, membrane‐less liquid droplets composed of densely packed multivalent molecules that form as a result of spontaneous phase separation. Here, it is studied how FtsZ, a protein that plays a key role in the bacterial division process,...

Robustness and accuracy of cell division in Escherichia coli in diverse cell shapes

Cell division in typical rod-shaped bacteria such as Escherichia coli shows a remarkable plasticity in being able to adapt to a variety of irregular cell shapes. Here, we investigate the roles of the Min system and the nucleoid-occlusion factor SlmA in supporting this adaptation. We study “squeezed” E. coli in narrow nanofabricated channels...