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Volume 169, Issue 8

Moving toward a better understanding of the model bacterial predator Open Access

Abstract

The bacterial predator is a model for the wider phenomenon of bacteria:bacteria predation, and the specialization required to achieve a lifestyle dependent on prey consumption. is able to recognize, enter and ultimately consume fellow Gram-negative bacteria, killing these prey from within their periplasmic space, and lysing the host at the end of the cycle. The classic phenotype-driven characterization (and observation of predation) has benefitted from an increased focus on molecular mechanisms and fluorescence microscopy and tomography, revealing new features of several of the lifecycle stages. Herein we summarize a selection of these advances and describe likely areas for exploration that will push the field toward a more complete understanding of this fascinating ‘two-cell’ system.

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  • Accepted:
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Keyword(s): Bdellovibrio , Predatory Bacteria and protein structure function
Funding
This study was supported by the:
  • Wellcome Trust (Award 209437/Z/17/Z)
    • Principle Award Recipient: AndrewLovering
© 2023 The Authors
  • This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. This article was made open access via a Publish and Read agreement between the Microbiology Society and the corresponding author’s institution.
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2023-08-03
2024-05-08
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Moving toward a better understanding of the model bacterial predator Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus
Microbiology 169, 001380 (2023); https://doi.org/10.1099/mic.0.001380
/content/journal/micro/10.1099/mic.0.001380
/content/journal/micro/10.1099/mic.0.001380
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