Imperial College London
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DrPhilippThomas

Faculty of Natural Sciences, Department of Mathematics

Senior Lecturer in Biomathematics
 
 
 
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Contact

 

+44 (0)20 7594 2647p.thomas

 
 
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Location

 

626Huxley BuildingSouth Kensington Campus

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Summary

 

Publications

Citation

BibTex format

@article{Martins:2018:10.1073/pnas.1811309115,
author = {Martins, B and Tooke, AK and Thomas, P and Locke, JCW},
doi = {10.1073/pnas.1811309115},
journal = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences},
pages = {E11415--E11424},
title = {Cell size control driven by the circadian clock and environment in cyanobacteria},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1811309115},
volume = {115},
year = {2018}
}
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RIS format (EndNote, RefMan)

TY  - JOUR
AB  - How cells maintain their size has been extensively studied under constant conditions. In the wild, however, cells rarely experience constant environments. Here, we examine how the 24-hour circadian clock and environmental cycles modulate cell size control and division timings in the cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus using single-cell time-lapse microscopy.  Under constant light, wild type cells follow an apparent sizer-like principle. Closer inspection reveals that the clock generates two subpopulations, with cells born in the subjective day following different division rules from cells born in subjective night. A stochastic model explains how this behaviour emerges from the interaction of cell size control with the clock. We demonstrate that the clock continuously modulates the probability of cell division throughout day and night, rather than solely applying an on-off gate to division as previously proposed. Iterating between modelling and experiments, we go on to identify an effective coupling of the division rate to time of day through the combined effects of the environment and the clock on cell division. Under naturally graded light-dark cycles, this coupling narrows the time window of cell divisions and shifts divisions away from when light levels are low and cell growth is reduced. Our analysis allows us to disentangle, and predict the effects of, the complex interactions between the environment, clock, and cell size control.
AU  - Martins,B
AU  - Tooke,AK
AU  - Thomas,P
AU  - Locke,JCW
DO  - 10.1073/pnas.1811309115
EP  - 11424
PY  - 2018///
SN  - 0027-8424
SP  - 11415
TI  - Cell size control driven by the circadian clock and environment in cyanobacteria
T2  - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1811309115
UR  - http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/64595
VL  - 115
ER  -
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