AUTHOR=Dhanashree  , Rajashekharan Sharika , Krishnaswamy Balamurugan , Kammara Rajagopal 

TITLE=Bifid Shape Is Intrinsic to Bifidobacterium adolescentis

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=8

YEAR=2017

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2017.00478

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2017.00478

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>Although the genus <italic>Bifidobacterium</italic> was originally named for its bifid morphology, not all bifidobacterial species have a similar structure, and very few of them adopt a bifid shape under stress conditions. The exposure of respective bifidobacterial species to various conditions, such as different pH, temperatures, medium components, <italic>in vivo</italic> growth in <italic>Caenorhabditis elegans</italic>, and subculture, did not affect their diverse morphologies. Extensive scanning electron microscopy studies suggested that the bifid shape of <italic>B. adolescentis</italic> are maintained irrespective of the conditions. Hence, we conclude that the bifid morphology is intrinsic to <italic>B. adolescentis</italic>. Most bifidobacterial species are anaerobic and rod-shaped, whereas, after the first generation, they become microaerophilic or aerophilic. CaCl<sub>2</sub> (treatment of <italic>B. animalis</italic>) signaling triggered a change from the rod shape to the bifid shape and vice versa in <italic>B. adolescentis</italic>.</p>