page_title: Filamentation
hierarchical_section_title: Filamentation
caption_attribution_description: English: A Bacillus cereus cell that has undergone filamentation following antibacterial treatment (upper electron micrograph; top right) and regularly sized cells of untreated B. cereus (lower electron micrograph)
context_page_description: Filamentation is the anomalous growth of certain bacteria, such as Escherichia coli, in which cells continue to elongate but do not divide. The cells that result from elongation without division have multiple chromosomal copies. In the absence of antibiotics or other stressors, filamentation occurs at a low frequency in bacterial populations, the increased cell length protecting bacteria from protozoan predation and neutrophil phagocytosis by making ingestion of the cells more difficult. Filamentation is also thought to protect bacteria from antibiotics during patient treatment and is associated with other aspects of bacterial virulence such as biofilm formation. The number and length of filaments within a bacterial population increases when the bacteria are treated with various chemical and physical agents. Some of the key genes involved in filamentation in E. coli include sulA and minCD.
context_section_description: Filamentation is the anomalous growth of certain bacteria, such as Escherichia coli, in which cells continue to elongate but do not divide (no septa formation). The cells that result from elongation without division have multiple chromosomal copies.  In the absence of antibiotics or other stressors, filamentation occurs at a low frequency in bacterial populations (4-8% short filaments and 0-5% long filaments in 1- to 8-hour cultures), the increased cell length protecting bacteria from protozoan predation and neutrophil phagocytosis by making ingestion of the cells more difficult.  Filamentation is also thought to protect bacteria from antibiotics during patient treatment and is associated with other aspects of bacterial virulence such as biofilm formation.  The number and length of filaments within a bacterial population increases when the bacteria are treated with various chemical and physical agents (eg. DNA synthesis-inhibiting antibiotics, UV light).  Some of the key genes involved in filamentation in E. coli include sulA and minCD.
caption: A Bacillus cereus cell that has undergone filamentation following antibacterial treatment (upper electron micrograph; top right) and regularly sized cells of untreated B. cereus (lower electron micrograph)
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