Tip extension and simultaneous multiple fission in a filamentous bacterium

Organisms display an immense variety of shapes, sizes, and reproductive strategies. At microscopic scales, bacterial cell morphology and growth dynamics are adaptive traits that influence the spatial organization of microbial communities. In one such community-the human dental plaque biofilm-a network of filamentous Corynebacterium matruchotii cells forms the core of bacterial consortia known as hedgehogs, but the processes that generate these structures are unclear. Here, using live-cell time-lapse microscopy and fluorescent D-amino acids to track peptidoglycan biosynthesis, we report an extraordinary example of simultaneous multiple division within the domain Bacteria. We show that C. matruchotii cells elongate at one pole through tip extension, similar to the growth strategy of soil-dwelling Streptomyces bacteria. Filaments elongate rapidly, at rates more than five times greater than other closely related bacterial species. Following elongation, many septa form simultaneously, and each cell divides into 3 to 14 daughter cells, depending on the length of the mother filament. The daughter cells then nucleate outgrowth of new thinner vegetative filaments, generating the classic "whip handle" morphology of this taxon. Our results expand the known diversity of bacterial cell cycles and help explain how this filamentous bacterium can compete for space, access nutrients, and form important interspecies interactions within dental plaque.