Phenotypic plasticity in cell elongation among closely related bacterial species

Cell elongation in bacteria has been studied over many decades, in part because its underlying mechanisms are targets of numerous antibiotics. While multiple elongation modes have been described, little is known about how these strategies vary across species and in response to evolutionary and environmental influences. Here, we use fluorescent D-amino acids to track the spatiotemporal dynamics of bacterial cell elongation, revealing unsuspected diversity of elongation modes among closely related species of the family Caulobacteraceae. We identify species-specific combinations of dispersed, midcell and polar elongation that can be either unidirectional or bidirectional. Using genetic, cell biology, and phylogenetic approaches, we demonstrate that evolution of unidirectional-midcell elongation is accompanied by changes in the localization of the peptidoglycan synthase PBP2. Our findings reveal high phenotypic plasticity in elongation mechanisms, with implications for our understanding of bacterial growth and evolution.