van Teeseling Muriel C F, de Pedro Miguel A, Cava Felipe
Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden, Department of Molecular Biology, Umeå Centre for Microbial Research, Umeå UniversityUmeå, Sweden.
Centro de Biología Molecular "Severo Ochoa" - Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Universidad Autónoma de MadridMadrid, Spain.
Front Microbiol. 2017 Jul 10;8:1264. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2017.01264. eCollection 2017.
Bacterial morphology is extremely diverse. Specific shapes are the consequence of adaptive pressures optimizing bacterial fitness. Shape affects critical biological functions, including nutrient acquisition, motility, dispersion, stress resistance and interactions with other organisms. Although the characteristic shape of a bacterial species remains unchanged for vast numbers of generations, periodical variations occur throughout the cell (division) and life cycles, and these variations can be influenced by environmental conditions. Bacterial morphology is ultimately dictated by the net-like peptidoglycan (PG) sacculus. The species-specific shape of the PG sacculus at any time in the cell cycle is the product of multiple determinants. Some morphological determinants act as a cytoskeleton to guide biosynthetic complexes spatiotemporally, whereas others modify the PG sacculus after biosynthesis. Accumulating evidence supports critical roles of morphogenetic processes in bacteria-host interactions, including pathogenesis. Here, we review the molecular determinants underlying morphology, discuss the evidence linking bacterial morphology to niche adaptation and pathogenesis, and examine the potential of morphological determinants as antimicrobial targets.
细菌形态极其多样。特定形状是优化细菌适应性的适应性压力的结果。形状影响关键的生物学功能，包括营养获取、运动性、扩散、抗逆性以及与其他生物的相互作用。尽管一个细菌物种的特征形状在大量世代中保持不变，但在整个细胞（分裂）和生命周期中会出现周期性变化，并且这些变化会受到环境条件的影响。细菌形态最终由网状肽聚糖（PG）囊泡决定。在细胞周期的任何时候，PG囊泡的物种特异性形状都是多种决定因素的产物。一些形态决定因素充当细胞骨架，在时空上引导生物合成复合物，而其他因素则在生物合成后修饰PG囊泡。越来越多的证据支持形态发生过程在细菌与宿主相互作用（包括发病机制）中的关键作用。在这里，我们综述了形态学背后的分子决定因素，讨论了将细菌形态与生态位适应和发病机制联系起来的证据，并研究了形态决定因素作为抗菌靶点的潜力。
