Based on the author's more than 40 years experience, Bacterial Growth
and Form examines such important questions as what bacteria were, what
they are, and what they do. Particular emphasis is placed on the ability
of bacteria to establish their shapes as they grow and divide. By
developing an understanding of the properties of these simple and early
life forms, especially at the levels of physics and mathematics, the
book provides insight into the mechanism used by bacteria to subvert
physical forces to their own ends. A major consideration of this work is
that prokaryotes do many of the same things that eukaryotes do, but with
simpler equipment employed in an extremely sophisticated way. The book
illustrates this point by closely examining the basic mechanismof
hydrostatic or turgor pressure: how it functions for many of the
mechanical purposes in the prokaryote, how it leads to mechanisms for
resisting turgor pressure, and how it ultimately led to the development
of exoskeletons and endoskeletons, and to the refinement of bacteria.
Bacterial Growth and Form brings together biochemical, biophysical, and
physiological principles in an authoritative, single-source volume. It
provides researchers, and students in biophysics and microbiology with
an indispensible reference and a new perspective into the biology of
life.
