ArticleNature2014
Sequential evolution of bacterial morphology by co-option of a developmental regulator.
Article in Nature, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 54 papers.
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54 citing papers in PubMed, 73 citations in OpenAlex.
- Analysis of stress-induced small proteins inScience signaling · 2025Article
- Analysis of stress-induced small proteins inbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Polymerization and flanking domains of the bactofilin BacA collectively regulate stalk formation in Asticcacaulis biprosthecum.PLoS genetics · 2025Article
- Phenotypic plasticity in cell elongation among closely related bacterial species.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Functional specialization of the subdomains of a bactofilin driving stalk morphogenesis inbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
- Biomolecular condensates as stress sensors and modulators of bacterial signaling.PLoS pathogens · 2024Review
- Acquisition, co-option, and duplication of the rtx toxin system and the emergence of virulence in Kingella.Nature communications · 2023Article
- Interacting bactofilins impact cell shape of the MreB-less multicellular Rhodomicrobium vannielii.PLoS genetics · 2023Article
- Synchronized Swarmers and Sticky Stalks: Caulobacter crescentus as a Model for Bacterial Cell Biology.Journal of bacteriology · 2023Review
- CrvA and CrvB form a curvature-inducing module sufficient to induce cell-shape complexity in Gram-negative bacteria.Nature microbiology · 2021Article
- The archaeal protein SepF is essential for cell division in Haloferax volcanii.Nature communications · 2021Article
- Construction of intracellular asymmetry and asymmetric division in Escherichia coli.Nature communications · 2021Article
- A Division of Labor in the Recruitment and Topological Organization of a Bacterial Morphogenic Complex.Current biology : CB · 2020Article
- Cryogenic single-molecule fluorescence annotations for electron tomography reveal in situ organization of key proteins inProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2020Article
- An RGB-emitting molecular cocktail for the detection of bacterial fingerprints.Chemical science · 2020Article
- A PopZ-linked apical recruitment assay for studying protein-protein interactions in the bacterial cell envelope.Molecular microbiology · 2019Article
- C-terminal regulatory domain of the ε subunit of FMicrobiologyOpen · 2019Article
- Asymmetric division yields progeny cells with distinct modes of regulating cell cycle-dependent chromosome methylation.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2019Article
- Origin of a Core Bacterial Gene via Co-option and Detoxification of a Phage Lysin.Current biology : CB · 2019Article
- A specialized MreB-dependent cell wall biosynthetic complex mediates the formation of stalk-specific peptidoglycan in Caulobacter crescentus.PLoS genetics · 2019Article
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4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
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Abstract
What mechanisms underlie the transitions responsible for the diverse shapes observed in the living world? Although bacteria exhibit a myriad of morphologies, the mechanisms responsible for the evolution of bacterial cell shape are not understood. We investigated morphological diversity in a group of bacteria that synthesize an appendage-like extension of the cell envelope called the stalk. The location and number of stalks varies among species, as exemplified by three distinct subcellular positions of stalks within a rod-shaped cell body: polar in the genus Caulobacter and subpolar or bilateral in the genus Asticcacaulis. Here we show that a developmental regulator of Caulobacter crescentus, SpmX, is co-opted in the genus Asticcacaulis to specify stalk synthesis either at the subpolar or bilateral positions. We also show that stepwise evolution of a specific region of SpmX led to the gain of a new function and localization of this protein, which drove the sequential transition in stalk positioning. Our results indicate that changes in protein function, co-option and modularity are key elements in the evolution of bacterial morphology. Therefore, similar evolutionary principles of morphological transitions apply to both single-celled prokaryotes and multicellular eukaryotes.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.