Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Cheng, Thimoro
• Boneca, Ivo Gomperts

Titel

The shapeshifting Helicobacter pylori: From a corkscrew to a ball

Ist Teil von

• Molecular microbiology, 2024-02, Vol.121 (2), p.260-274

Ort / Verlag

England: Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Erscheinungsjahr

2024

Quelle

Wiley-Blackwell Journals

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• There is growing evidence that bacterial morphology is closely related to their lifestyle. The helical Helicobacter pylori relies on its unique shape for survival and efficient colonization of the human stomach. Yet, they have been observed to transform into another distinctive morphology, the spherical coccoid. Despite being hypothesized to be involved in the persistence and transmission of this species, years of effort in deciphering the roles of the coccoid form remain fruitless since contrasting observations regarding its lifestyle were reported. Here, we discuss the two forms of H. pylori with a focus on the coccoid form, the molecular mechanism behind its morphological transformation, and experimental approaches to further develop our understanding of this phenomenon. We also propose a putative mechanism of the coccoid formation in H. pylori through induction of a type‐I toxin‐antitoxin (TA) system recently shown to influence the morphology of this species. Helicobacter pylori transforms from helical rods to spherical coccoids when faced with various stresses, including starvation and temperature fluctuations. While it remains controversial whether the latter form is dormant or degenerative, a great deal of overlooked evidence points toward the existence of both. We hypothesize the peptidoglycan pathways to implicate this process through the induction of a type I toxin‐antitoxin system previously shown to induce this morphological transformation.