Pathogen-induced rerouting of host membrane trafficking

Eukaryotic cell membranes are protective barriers that precisely control cargo import, trafficking, and export. In defiance of this control, intracellular bacterial pathogens forcefully invade host cells and establish intracellular niches. These pathogens require remarkable membrane remodeling events to support their large size, and a significant amount of work has examined how these pathogens co-opt cytoskeleton dynamics to remodel host membranes. Until recently, less attention was given to where the membranes came from to support remodeling around the pathogens at each stage of infection. In this review, we highlight recent examples of how bacterial pathogens reroute membrane trafficking to provide the membranes needed during invasion, intracellular growth, and eventual dissemination through host tissues. The examples discussed underscore emerging themes and areas for continued investigation rather than provide a survey of the entire field. We hope that highlighting these open questions will inspire researchers across disciplines to recognize the importance of pathogens as tools to understand both mechanisms of bacterial virulence and membrane trafficking.