Dimensions of Escherichia coli at various growth rates: model for envelope growth.

The duplication of Escherichia coli B/r is described based on two independent sequences, the replication of the genome and the growth of the envelope. It is proposed that (i) new envelope growth zones are activated coincident with the initiation of new rounds of chromosome replication; (ii) each zone is active in envelope synthesis from the time of its inauguration to the division which follows the completion of the round of chromosome replication (that is, for C + D min); and (iii) the rate of envelope synthesis at each site is constant, independent of the growth rate. Measurements of the surface areas of two E. coli B/r substrains growing at a variety of rates and during nutritional transitions are consistent with the predictions of the model.