Cell-body curvature reduces stall frequency to enhance Vibrio cholerae swimming and chemotaxis through hydrogels.

Cell-body curvature in Vibrio cholerae reduces stall frequency by 86%, boosting chemotaxis in mucus-like hydrogels and enhancing pathogenic movement.

• Why it matters: Understanding how bacterial shape influences motility is crucial for grasping infection mechanisms, especially since previous work linked curvature loss to decreased infectivity.
• What they did: Researchers compared wild-type curved cells and straight mutants, analyzing swimming and chemotactic behavior in liquids, viscous solutions, and mucus-mimicking hydrogels, supported by molecular dynamics simulations.
• The result: Curved cells experience fewer stalls and better chemotactic drift in hydrogels, revealing that optimal cell curvature enhances movement through host-like environments and potentially increases virulence.