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Journal of Bacteriology, March 1999, p. 1900-1905, Vol. 181, No. 6
0021-9193/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Nucleoid-Independent Identification of Cell Division Sites in Escherichia coli

William R. Cook* and Lawrence I. Rothfield

Department of Microbiology, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, Connecticut 06030

Received 12 November 1998/Accepted 12 January 1999

The mechanism used by Escherichia coli to determine the correct site for cell division is unknown. In this report, we have attempted to distinguish between a model in which septal position is determined by the position of the nucleoids and a model in which septal position is predetermined by a mechanism that does not involve nucleoid position. To do this, filaments with extended nucleoid-free regions adjacent to the cell poles were produced by simultaneous inactivation of cell division and DNA replication. The positions of septa that formed within the nucleoid-free zones after division was allowed to resume were then analyzed. The results showed that septa were formed at a uniform distance from cell poles when division was restored, with no relation to the distance from the nearest nucleoid. In some cells, septa were formed directly over nucleoids. These results are inconsistent with models that invoke nucleoid positioning as the mechanism for determining the site of division site formation.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Microbiology, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT 06030. Phone: (860) 679-4208. Fax: (860) 679-1239. E-mail: wcook{at}panda.uchc.edu.

Journal of Bacteriology, March 1999, p. 1900-1905, Vol. 181, No. 6
0021-9193/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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