Bacteria’s shapeshifting behavior clue to new treatments for urinary tract infections

Urinary tract infections are both very common and potentially very dangerous. Around 80 per cent of UTIs are caused by uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC), which is increasingly resistant to antibiotics. E. coli-related death due to antimicrobial resistance is the leading cause of bacterial fatalities worldwide. New research examining bacterial behavior over the infection cycle is an important step towards enabling new treatments or prevention in the future.