The discussion of bacterial morphology has been dominated
by questions about how a cell manages to create a rod
shape, which, of course, is but one example of the more
general question of how a cell constructs any shape. The
expectation is that by answering this (deceptively) simple
question we may acquire knowledge that will point us to a
universal mechanism of shape control. This emphasis is
understandable because we are both more familiar with
and more comfortable with answering how-type questions.
And, indeed, this approach has produced exciting new
information, highlighted by other articles in this issue.