Caterpillar-like bacteria circulate in your mouth, revealed a study in which the National Institute for Scientific Research (INRS) participates, made public on Tuesday.
Just as humans have done, bacteria are continually evolving. So, in order to do their job better, the “Neisseriaceae” bacteria, which usually look like rods dividing across the width, have found another way to multiply.
“We assume that during evolution, through a reworking of the processes of elongation and division, the shape of the cells changed, perhaps to better adapt to the oral cavity”, mentioned Professor Frédéric Veyrier, specialist in bacterial geonomy at INRS.
Indeed these bacteria which cling in the mouth attach themselves to each other before separating along the length. At the end of this cell division, they remain attached together forming caterpillar-like filaments.
‘Multicellularity enables cooperation between cells, for example in the form of division of labour, and therefore may help bacteria survive nutritional stress,’ explained the research team.
The study conducted by the National Institute for Scientific Research (INRS) and the University of Vienna sought to show how and why bacteria carry out this cell remodeling.
“In addition to helping us understand the evolution of cell shape, multicellular Neisseriaceae may be useful for studying how bacteria learned to live attached to the surface of animals’ oral cavities, the only place they were ever found. found so far. In fact, half of us have it in our mouths,” explained Professor Silvia Bulgheresi, a specialist in environmental cell biology at the University of Vienna.