Abstract
THE distributions of generation time are markedly skewed, but the reciprocal of the generation time, termed ‘generation rate’, was reported to have a normal distribution for a bacterium, yeast, a strain of human tissue culture, and the protozoan Tetrahymena geleii; these results provided evidence for the generalized nature of this distribution in widely different kinds of cells in balanced growth1. Although other measurements had not always given a normal distribution of generation rates, this was to be expected since the sources of experimental bias were not then completely understood. There are several kinds of bias that must be avoided2. Furthermore, some experiments in the literature have given no clear test of the nature of the distribution, since data are insufficient, with rather fewer than 100 cell divisions measured. Nevertheless, it has been asserted that the skewed character of the generation-time distribution has decreased as experimental techniques have advanced3, and this would require that the generation rates depart from a normal distribution. This communication presents further evidence for the validity of the normal distribution for generation rates.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Kubitschek, H. E., Exp. Cell Res., 26, 439 (1962).
Kubitschek, H. E., Nature, 195, 350 (1962).
Koch, A. L., and Schaechter, M., J. Gen. Microbiol., 29, 435 (1962).
Cook, J. R., and Cook, B., Exp. Cell Res., 28, 524 (1962).
Koch, A. L. (personal communication).
Kubitschek, H. E., and Cassle, M., Exp. Cell Res. (in the press).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
KUBITSCHEK, H. Normal Distribution of Cell Generation Rates. Nature 209, 1039–1040 (1966). https://doi.org/10.1038/2091039a0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/2091039a0
This article is cited by
-
Transition probability and cell-cycle initiation in yeast
Nature (1977)
-
A formulation of the lifetime distribution and the existence of its moments
Journal of Mathematical Biology (1977)
-
Characterization of the Time Variations of Reproductive Processes in Living Cells
Nature (1967)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.