Proliferation according to physical principles: Spherical Listeria L-forms with daughter vesicles in their interiors. (From Briers Y et al, PLOS ONE, 2012)
Bacteria able to shed their cell wall assume new, mostly spherical shapes. ETH researchers have shown that these cells, known as L-forms, are not only viable but that their reproductive mechanisms may even correspond to those of early life forms. Researchers from a group led by ETH professor Martin Loessner discovered a few years ago that rod-shaped Listeria can become spherical. These L-forms differ fundamentally from normal forms of bacteria. They shed their cell wall, assume mostly spherical shapes and are capable of multiplying through budding-like processes in which the mother cell membranes form daughter vesicles. However, not all these vesicles actually contain genetic material. L-forms may be created when cell wall-active antibiotics are used against Listeria, which can cause severe cases of food infection.
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