Colony morphotype diversification as a signature of bacterial evolution.

The appearance of colony morphotypes is a signature of genetic diversification in evolving bacterial populations. Colony structure highly depends on the cell-cell interactions and polymer production that are adjusted during evolution in an environment that allows the development of spatial structures. Nucci and colleagues describe the emergence of a rough and dry morphotype of a noncapsulated strain during a laboratory evolution study, resembling genetic changes observed in clinical isolates.