word of the day: septation

The word of the day is septation:

Etymology:  < septum n. + -ation suffix.

Division by a septum or septa. (OED)

which leads us to septum:

Etymology:  < Latin sēptum, sæptum, < sēpīre, sæpīre to enclose, < sēpēs, sæpēs hedge.

  A partition; a dividing wall, membrane, layer, etc.; a dissepiment.

a. gen.

b. Anat. e.g. the partition between the nostrils ( septum nasi), the membrane separating the ventricles of the heart ( septum cordis). septum lucidum or pellucidum , a thin double layer of tissue forming a partition between the two lateral ventricles of the brain.

c. Bot. e.g. the division-wall of a cell, a partition in a compound ovary or spore.)

d. Geol.

e. Zool. e.g. one of the radiated plates of the cell of corals, one of the partitions of a chambered shell.

f. Electronics. A metal plate placed transversely across a waveguide and attached to the walls by conducting joints. (OED)

"Co-chaperones have been observed as necessary because overexpression of dnaK gene alone is toxic for the cell, leading to growth inhibition and abnormal septation."

 - Mónica Martínez-Alonso, Elena García-Fruitós, Neus Ferrer-Miralles, Ursula Rinas, and Antonio Villaverde, "Side effects of chaperone gene co-expression in recombinant protein production", Microbial Cell Factories 9:64 (2010)