Bacterial growth
Bacterial growth is finely tuned to cellular state and environmental input. Growth not only determines the fate of a single cell, but also of the community, and both depends on and is regulated by other cells, including kin cells, other microorganisms and host cells. What governs bacterial growth is a classic question of microbiology with a rich history of research, and modern tools and approaches have invigorated the field. In this Focus issue, Nature Reviews Microbiology highlights some of the mechanisms that regulate bacterial population dynamics, and explores how growth depends on environmental conditions, for example in biofilms, the microbiota or states of low energy.
