Developmental Biology of Caulobacter crescentus: A Model Organism to Study the Regulation of Shape Morphology

Caulobacter crescentus’ peculiar life cycle includes morphological changes that allow its cells to survive in situations of nutrient shortage and to divide under favorable conditions. Due to the complexity of its shapeshifting, many researchers focus attention on this bacterium to try to explain the mechanisms involved in the cell shape regulation in bacteria. These studies allowed the identification of a number of proteins that modulate the bacterial shape although, in most cases, their roles still remain elusive.