Researchers report novel cell size regulation mechanism in cyanobacteria

Cyanobacteria are the earliest known oxygenic photosynthetic organisms on Earth, and they played decisive roles in the evolution of the environment and the life on our planet. Cell morphology and cell size of different cyanobacteria species vary widely, but each species has inheritable and distinct cell morphology and cell size that are stably maintained through the generations. The underlying mechanisms of such a homeostasis have been unknown.