Bacterial morphological plasticity

Bacterial morphological plasticity refers to changes in the shape and size that bacterial cells undergo when they encounter stressful environments. Although bacteria have evolved complex molecular strategies to maintain their shape, many are able to alter their shape as a survival strategy in response to protist predators, antibiotics, the immune response, and other threats.[1]

  1. ^ Justice, SS; Hunstad, DA; Cegelski, L; Hultgren, SJ (February 2008). "Morphological plasticity as a bacterial survival strategy". Nature Reviews. Microbiology. 6 (2): 162–8. doi:10.1038/nrmicro1820. PMID 18157153. S2CID 7247384.