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Cell length, cell growth and cell division

Abstract

When cells of E.coli reach a certain critical length, which is constant in all growth conditions and equal to twice the minimum cell length, they abruptly increase their rate of elongation and divide about 20 min later. Chromosome replication terminates at about this same cell length but is not the signal for the change in rate of cell elongation.

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Donachie, W., Begg, K. & Vicente, M. Cell length, cell growth and cell division. Nature 264, 328–333 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1038/264328a0

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