On size and growth of cells

Abstract

Understanding how growth induces form is a longstanding biological question. Many studies concentrated on the shapes of plant cells, fungi or bacteria. Some others have shown the importance of the mechanical properties of bacterial walls and plant tissues in pattern formation. Here I sketch a simple physical picture of cell growth. The study is focussed on isolated cells that have walls. They are modeled as thin elastic shells containing a liquid, which pressure drives the growth as generally admitted for bacteria or plant cells. Requiring mechanical equilibrium leads to estimations of typical cell sizes, in quantitative agreement with compiled data including bacteria, cochlear outer hair, fungi, yeast, root hair and giant alga cells.