Uropathogenic Escherichia coli proliferate as a coccoid morphotype inside human host cells.

ABSTRACT: Escherichia coli is arguably one of the most studied bacterial model systems in modern biology. While E. coli are normally rod-shaped gram-negative bacteria, they are known to undergo conditional morphology changes under environmental and nutrient stress. In this study, using an infection-based in-vitro infection model system combined with advanced dynamical imaging, we present the first molecular details of uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) dividing to form and proliferate as coccoid-shaped cells inside human host cells. For these intracellular UPEC cells, the frequency of cell division outpaced the rate of cell growth, resulting in a morphological transition from traditional rod-shape to coccobacilli. We also visualized the subcellular protein dynamics in these cells and noted that the divisi

SUBMITTER: Pokhrel A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12407437 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature