Phenotypic plasticity in cell elongation among closely related bacterial species

被引：0

作者：

Marie Delaby ^{[1
]}

Liu Yang ^{[1
]}

Maxime Jacq ^{[6
]}

Kelley A. Gallagher ^{[1
]}

David T. Kysela ^{[1
]}

Velocity Hughes ^{[7
]}

Francisco Pulido ^{[1
]}

Frederic J. Veyrier ^{[1
]}

Michael S. VanNieuwenhze ^{[2
]}

Yves V. Brun ^{[3
]}

机构：

[1] Université de Montréal,Département de microbiologie, infectiologie et immunologie

[2] Synthesis by Velocity,Bacterial Symbionts Evolution, Centre Armand

[3] Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique,Frappier Santé Biotechnologie

[4] 800 East Kirkwood Avenue,Department of Chemistry, Indiana University

[5] 1001 E. 3rd St,Department of Biology, Indiana University

[6] Pasadena,Biosphere Sciences and Engineering, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 813 Santa Barbara Street

[7] Cornell University,Department of Microbiology

来源：

Nature Communications | / 16卷 / 1期

关键词：

D O I：

10.1038/s41467-025-60005-y

中图分类号：

学科分类号：

摘要：

Cell elongation in bacteria has been studied over many decades, in part because its underlying mechanisms are targets of numerous antibiotics. While multiple elongation modes have been described, little is known about how these strategies vary across species and in response to evolutionary and environmental influences. Here, we use fluorescent D-amino acids to track the spatiotemporal dynamics of bacterial cell elongation, revealing unsuspected diversity of elongation modes among closely related species of the family Caulobacteraceae. We identify species-specific combinations of dispersed, midcell and polar elongation that can be either unidirectional or bidirectional. Using genetic, cell biology, and phylogenetic approaches, we demonstrate that evolution of unidirectional-midcell elongation is accompanied by changes in the localization of the peptidoglycan synthase PBP2. Our findings reveal high phenotypic plasticity in elongation mechanisms, with implications for our understanding of bacterial growth and evolution.

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