What you see is what you get: bacterial ultrastructure as hallmark of pathogenicity

Vibrio cholerae is a pathogenic bacterium that continues to have a great impact on human health. This species is especially well known for being able to adjust to changing environments, including changing nutrition levels, salinity, and inhabiting new hosts. In this study, we used various high resolution imaging techniques to characterize the morphological changes. We found that V. cholerae‘s shape is especially altered when moving from high-to-low nutrient environments, including inside a natural host model, the zebrafish. The information gained from this research increasing our basic understanding of V. cholerae biology which may improve treatment strategies.