ABOVE: When the bacterium Caulobacter crescentus runs low on fuel, it can still reproduce by clustering its remaining ATP around the cell division enzyme DivJ © NANOCLUSTERING.COM When nutrients are scarce and ATP levels are low, a condensate forms inside Caulobacter crescentus, concentrating DivJ, an enzyme crucial for cellular division. At sufficiently high regional concentrations, DivJ can better make use of the molecules of ATP readily available to it, powering cellular division. When scientists prevented the formation of condensates under ATP depletion, the concentration of DivJ was too low to efficiently utilize the dwindling fuel reserves. As an outcome, bacterial cells could grow but not divide, producing unusually elongated shapes.Read the full story.
