Abstract
THE rate of cell division in Escherichia coli seems to be determined by the frequency of initiation of chromosome replication1,2. It is often assumed that replication begins when a certain amount of an intracellular protein(s) (the initiator(s)) has accumulated or, alternatively, when the concentration of an inhibitor of the initiator is reduced below a threshold level by an increase in cell volume1–5. All these models presuppose that initiator is made at all growth rates as a constant fraction of total protein4–6 or in proportion to cell mass or volume2,7. So far, no mechanism for this has been suggested and we propose that a simple feedback control system, the elements of which exist in bacteria, might answer this problem.
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SOMPAYRAC, L., MAALØE, O. Autorepressor Model for Control of DNA Replication. Nature New Biology 241, 133–135 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1038/newbio241133a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/newbio241133a0
