Check out our preprint for all the details on how these findings reshape our understanding of bacterial growth diversity! Huge thanks to my amazing collaborators for making this work possible! 5/5

Extending our analysis to other alphaproteobacteria like Rhodobacter capsulatus, we found that unidirectional midcell elongation isn’t limited to Caulobacteraceae and could be widespread within Alphaproteobacteria. 4/5

A key player? PBP2! In A. excentricus, PBP2 localizes at midcell during midcell elongation, contrasting its dispersed pattern in C. crescentus. This spatial organization appears crucial for directing growth patterns. 3/5

Using fluorescent D-amino acids (FDAA) to track peptidoglycan synthesis, we discovered that PG synthesis in Asticcacaulis excentricus starts at midcell and extends toward the new pole, while A. biprosthecum combines polar and midcell elongation- new growth modes among Caulobacteraceae relatives! 2/5