Growth Dynamics of Bacterial Cell Cycles

Although many mechanisms lead to slow growth in bacterial cells, the phenomenology of slow growth has not yet been systematically explored with single-cell resolution. Using time-lapse microscopy of Escherichia coli and a variety of mutants and drug treatments, we explore the relation between the reduced growth rate at a population level and the distribution of cell-cycle durations. In particular, we explore the consequences of cell cycle arrest in a subpopulation on the population growth rate. We test a novel model for predicting population-level growth dynamics from single-cell measurements and we search for universal properties of slow growth in bacterial cells.