ArticleFEBS letters2026
Cell geometry and membrane protein crowding constrain Escherichia coli growth rate, overflow metabolism, respiration, and maintenance energy.
Article in FEBS letters, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed.
- Thermo-flux: generation and analysis of thermodynamic-stoichiometric metabolic network models.Molecular systems biology · 2026Article
- Cell geometry and membrane protein crowding constrain Escherichia coli growth rate, overflow metabolism, respiration, and maintenance energy.FEBS letters · 2026Article
- Modeling reveals a metabolic basis of competition amongmSystems · 2025Article
- Review
- Global constraint principle for microbial growth laws.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Metabolic remodeling of microorganisms by mobile genetic elements alters mutualistic community composition.mSystems · 2025Article
- Cell Geometry Limits Bacterial Metabolic Efficiency.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Cell Geometry and Membrane Protein Crowding Constrain Growth Rate, Overflow Metabolism, Respiration, and Maintenance Energy.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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7 authors.
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Abstract
The rules of prokaryotic cell design remain elusive. Here, a theory is presented for interpreting growth rate, overflow metabolism, respiration efficiency, and maintenance energy flux based on cell dimensions, membrane protein crowding, and metabolism. The theory employs biophysical properties and systems analysis to successfully interpret phenotypes of Escherichia coli K-12 strains MG1655 and NCM3722. These strains are genetically similar but differ in surface area-to-volume (SA : V) ratios (~ 30%), growth rate on glucose (~ 40%), and overflow-inducing growth rates (~ 80%). Six predictions were tested and validated using experimental phenomics, proteomics, and mutant data. Analyses did not require assumptions regarding cytosolic macromolecular crowding, highlighting the distinct properties of the theory. Cell geometry and membrane protein crowding are significant biophysical constraints of cell biology.
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