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PubMed · 16012516

Bacterial cell shape.

Matthew T Cabeen·Christine Jacobs-Wagner
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Abstract

Bacterial species have long been classified on the basis of their characteristic cell shapes. Despite intensive research, the molecular mechanisms underlying the generation and maintenance of bacterial cell shape remain largely unresolved. The field has recently taken an important step forward with the discovery that eukaryotic cytoskeletal proteins have homologues in bacteria that affect cell shape. Here, we discuss how a bacterium gains and maintains its shape, the challenges still confronting us and emerging strategies for answering difficult questions in this rapidly evolving field.

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Cell MembraneCell WallCytoskeletonGram-Negative BacteriaGram-Positive BacteriaPenicillin-Binding ProteinsJournal ArticleResearch Support, N.I.H., ExtramuralResearch Support, Non-U.S. Gov'tResearch Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.Review

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Matthew T Cabeen, Christine Jacobs-Wagner. 2005. Bacterial cell shape.. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrmicro1205

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