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Remy O, Santin YG, Jonckheere V, Tesseur C, Kaljević J, Van Damme P, Laloux G. Distinct dynamics and proximity networks of hub proteins at the prey-invading cell pole in a predatory bacterium. J Bacteriol 2024; 206:e0001424. [PMID: 38470120 PMCID: PMC11025332 DOI: 10.1128/jb.00014-24] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2024] [Accepted: 02/23/2024] [Indexed: 03/13/2024] Open
Abstract
In bacteria, cell poles function as subcellular compartments where proteins localize during specific lifecycle stages, orchestrated by polar "hub" proteins. Whereas most described bacteria inherit an "old" pole from the mother cell and a "new" pole from cell division, generating cell asymmetry at birth, non-binary division poses challenges for establishing cell polarity, particularly for daughter cells inheriting only new poles. We investigated polarity dynamics in the obligate predatory bacterium Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus, proliferating through filamentous growth followed by non-binary division within prey bacteria. Monitoring the subcellular localization of two proteins known as polar hubs in other species, RomR and DivIVA, revealed RomR as an early polarity marker in B. bacteriovorus. RomR already marks the future anterior poles of the progeny during the predator's growth phase, during a precise period closely following the onset of divisome assembly and the end of chromosome segregation. In contrast to RomR's stable unipolar localization in the progeny, DivIVA exhibits a dynamic pole-to-pole localization. This behavior changes shortly before the division of the elongated predator cell, where DivIVA accumulates at all septa and both poles. In vivo protein interaction networks for DivIVA and RomR, mapped through endogenous miniTurbo-based proximity labeling, further underscore their distinct roles in cell polarization and reinforce the importance of the anterior "invasive" cell pole in prey-predator interactions. Our work also emphasizes the precise spatiotemporal order of cellular processes underlying B. bacteriovorus proliferation, offering insights into the subcellular organization of bacteria with filamentous growth and non-binary division.IMPORTANCEIn bacteria, cell poles are crucial areas where "hub" proteins orchestrate lifecycle events through interactions with multiple partners at specific times. While most bacteria exhibit one "old" and one "new" pole, inherited from the previous division event, setting polar identity poses challenges in bacteria with non-binary division. This study explores polar proteins in the predatory bacterium Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus, which undergoes filamentous growth followed by non-binary division inside another bacterium. Our research reveals distinct localization dynamics of the polar proteins RomR and DivIVA, highlighting RomR as an early "hub" marking polar identity in the filamentous mother cell. Using miniTurbo-based proximity labeling, we uncovered their unique protein networks. Overall, our work provides new insights into the cell polarity in non-binary dividing bacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ophélie Remy
- de Duve Institute, Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Yoann G. Santin
- de Duve Institute, Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Veronique Jonckheere
- iRIP Unit, Laboratory of Microbiology, Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Coralie Tesseur
- de Duve Institute, Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Jovana Kaljević
- de Duve Institute, Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Petra Van Damme
- iRIP Unit, Laboratory of Microbiology, Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Géraldine Laloux
- de Duve Institute, Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
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Contreras-Moreno FJ, Pérez J, Muñoz-Dorado J, Moraleda-Muñoz A, Marcos-Torres FJ. Myxococcus xanthus predation: an updated overview. Front Microbiol 2024; 15:1339696. [PMID: 38328431 PMCID: PMC10849154 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1339696] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2023] [Accepted: 01/15/2024] [Indexed: 02/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Bacterial predators are widely distributed across a variety of natural environments. Understanding predatory interactions is of great importance since they play a defining role in shaping microbial communities in habitats such as soils. Myxococcus xanthus is a soil-dwelling bacterial predator that can prey on Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and even on eukaryotic microorganisms. This model organism has been studied for many decades for its unusual lifecycle, characterized by the formation of multicellular fruiting bodies filled with myxospores. However, less is known about its predatory behavior despite being an integral part of its lifecycle. Predation in M. xanthus is a multifactorial process that involves several mechanisms working synergistically, including motility systems to efficiently track and hunt prey, and a combination of short-range and contact-dependent mechanisms to achieve prey death and feed on them. In the short-range attack, M. xanthus is best known for the collective production of secondary metabolites and hydrolytic enzymes to kill prey and degrade cellular components. On the other hand, contact-dependent killing is a cell-to-cell process that relies on Tad-like and type III secretion systems. Furthermore, recent research has revealed that metals also play an important role during predation, either by inducing oxidative stress in the prey, or by competing for essential metals. In this paper, we review the current knowledge about M. xanthus predation, focusing on the different mechanisms used to hunt, kill, and feed on its prey, considering the most recent discoveries and the transcriptomic data available.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Aurelio Moraleda-Muñoz
- Departamento de Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain
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Kamada S, Wakabayashi R, Naganuma T. Phylogenetic Revisit to a Review on Predatory Bacteria. Microorganisms 2023; 11:1673. [PMID: 37512846 PMCID: PMC10385382 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11071673] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2023] [Revised: 06/22/2023] [Accepted: 06/26/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Predatory bacteria, along with the biology of their predatory behavior, have attracted interest in terms of their ecological significance and industrial applications, a trend that has been even more pronounced since the comprehensive review in 2016. This mini-review does not cover research trends, such as the role of outer membrane vesicles in myxobacterial predation, but provides an overview of the classification and newly described taxa of predatory bacteria since 2016, particularly with regard to phylogenetic aspects. Among them, it is noteworthy that in 2020 there was a major phylogenetic reorganization that the taxa hosting Bdellovibrio and Myxococcus, formerly classified as Deltaproteobacteria, were proposed as the new phyla Bdellovibrionota and Myxococcota, respectively. Predatory bacteria have been reported from other phyla, especially from the candidate divisions. Predatory bacteria that prey on cyanobacteria and predatory cyanobacteria that prey on Chlorella have also been found. These are also covered in this mini-review, and trans-phylum phylogenetic trees are presented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saki Kamada
- Graduate School of Integrated Sciences for Life, Hiroshima University, 1-4-4 Kagamiyama, Higashihiroshima 739-8528, Japan
| | - Ryoka Wakabayashi
- Graduate School of Integrated Sciences for Life, Hiroshima University, 1-4-4 Kagamiyama, Higashihiroshima 739-8528, Japan
| | - Takeshi Naganuma
- Graduate School of Integrated Sciences for Life, Hiroshima University, 1-4-4 Kagamiyama, Higashihiroshima 739-8528, Japan
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Soto MJ, Pérez J, Muñoz-Dorado J, Contreras-Moreno FJ, Moraleda-Muñoz A. Transcriptomic response of Sinorhizobium meliloti to the predatory attack of Myxococcus xanthus. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1213659. [PMID: 37405170 PMCID: PMC10315480 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1213659] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2023] [Accepted: 06/01/2023] [Indexed: 07/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Bacterial predation impacts microbial community structures, which can have both positive and negative effects on plant and animal health and on environmental sustainability. Myxococcus xanthus is an epibiotic soil predator with a broad range of prey, including Sinorhizobium meliloti, which establishes nitrogen-fixing symbiosis with legumes. During the M. xanthus-S. meliloti interaction, the predator must adapt its transcriptome to kill and lyse the target (predatosome), and the prey must orchestrate a transcriptional response (defensome) to protect itself against the biotic stress caused by the predatory attack. Here, we describe the transcriptional changes taking place in S. meliloti in response to myxobacterial predation. The results indicate that the predator induces massive changes in the prey transcriptome with up-regulation of protein synthesis and secretion, energy generation, and fatty acid (FA) synthesis, while down-regulating genes required for FA degradation and carbohydrate transport and metabolism. The reconstruction of up-regulated pathways suggests that S. meliloti modifies the cell envelop by increasing the production of different surface polysaccharides (SPSs) and membrane lipids. Besides the barrier role of SPSs, additional mechanisms involving the activity of efflux pumps and the peptide uptake transporter BacA, together with the production of H2O2 and formaldehyde have been unveiled. Also, the induction of the iron-uptake machinery in both predator and prey reflects a strong competition for this metal. With this research we complete the characterization of the complex transcriptional changes that occur during the M. xanthus-S. meliloti interaction, which can impact the establishment of beneficial symbiosis with legumes.
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Affiliation(s)
- María José Soto
- Departamento de Biotecnología y Protección Ambiental, Estación Experimental del Zaidín, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Granada, Spain
| | - Juana Pérez
- Departamento de Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - José Muñoz-Dorado
- Departamento de Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain
| | | | - Aurelio Moraleda-Muñoz
- Departamento de Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain
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Santin YG, Lamot T, van Raaphorst R, Kaljević J, Laloux G. Modulation of prey size reveals adaptability and robustness in the cell cycle of an intracellular predator. Curr Biol 2023:S0960-9822(23)00541-9. [PMID: 37207648 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.04.059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2023] [Revised: 04/14/2023] [Accepted: 04/25/2023] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Despite a remarkable diversity of lifestyles, bacterial replication has only been investigated in a few model species. In bacteria that do not rely on canonical binary division for proliferation, the coordination of major cellular processes is still largely mysterious. Moreover, the dynamics of bacterial growth and division remain unexplored within spatially confined niches where nutrients are limited. This includes the life cycle of the model endobiotic predatory bacterium Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus, which grows by filamentation within its prey and produces a variable number of daughter cells. Here, we examined the impact of the micro-compartment in which predators replicate (i.e., the prey bacterium) on their cell-cycle progression at the single-cell level. Using Escherichia coli with genetically encoded size differences, we show that the duration of the predator cell cycle scales with prey size. Consequently, prey size determines predator offspring numbers. We found that individual predators elongate exponentially, with a growth rate determined by the nutritional quality of the prey, irrespective of prey size. However, the size of newborn predator cells is remarkably stable across prey nutritional content and size variations. Tuning the predatory cell cycle by modulating prey dimensions also allowed us to reveal invariable temporal connections between key cellular processes. Altogether, our data imply adaptability and robustness shaping the enclosed cell-cycle progression of B. bacteriovorus, which might contribute to optimal exploitation of the finite resources and space in their prey. This study extends the characterization of cell cycle control strategies and growth patterns beyond canonical models and lifestyles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoann G Santin
- de Duve Institute, UCLouvain, 75 avenue Hippocrate, 1200 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Thomas Lamot
- de Duve Institute, UCLouvain, 75 avenue Hippocrate, 1200 Brussels, Belgium
| | | | - Jovana Kaljević
- de Duve Institute, UCLouvain, 75 avenue Hippocrate, 1200 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Géraldine Laloux
- de Duve Institute, UCLouvain, 75 avenue Hippocrate, 1200 Brussels, Belgium.
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Baig U, Dahanukar N, Shintre N, Holkar K, Pund A, Lele U, Gujarathi T, Patel K, Jakati A, Singh R, Vidwans H, Tamhane V, Deshpande N, Watve M. Phylogenetic diversity and activity screening of cultivable Actinobacteria isolated from marine sponges and associated environments from the western coast of India. Access Microbiol 2021; 3:000242. [PMID: 34712902 PMCID: PMC8549387 DOI: 10.1099/acmi.0.000242] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2020] [Accepted: 06/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The phylogenetic diversity of cultivable actinobacteria isolated from sponges (Haliclona spp.) and associated intertidal zone environments along the northern parts of the western coast of India were studied using 16S rRNA gene sequences. A subset of randomly selected actinobacterial cultures were screened for three activities, namely predatory behaviour, antibacterial activity and enzyme inhibition. We recovered 237 isolates from the phylum Actinobacteria belonging to 19 families and 28 genera, which could be attributed to 95 putative species using maximum-likelihood partition and 100 putative species using Bayesian partition in Poisson tree processes. Although the trends in the discovery of actinobacterial genera isolated from sponges were consistent with previous studies from different study areas, we provide the first report of nine actinobacterial species from sponges. We observed widespread non-obligate epibiotic predatory behaviour in eight actinobacterial genera and we provide the first report of predatory activity in Brevibacterium, Glutamicibacter, Micromonospora, Nocardiopsis, Rhodococcus and Rothia. Sponge-associated actinobacteria showed significantly more predatory behaviour than environmental isolates. While antibacterial activity by actinobacterial isolates mainly affected Gram-positive target bacteria with little or no effect on Gram-negative bacteria, predation targeted both Gram-positive and Gram-negative prey with equal propensity. Actinobacterial isolates from both sponges and associated environments produced inhibitors of serine proteases and angiotensin-converting enzyme. Predatory behaviour was strongly associated with inhibition of trypsin and chymotrypsin. Our study suggests that the sponges and associated environments of the western coast of India are rich in actinobacterial diversity, with widespread predatory activity, antibacterial activity and production of enzyme inhibitors. Understanding the diversity and associations among various actinobacterial activities – with each other and the source of isolation – can provide new insights into marine microbial ecology and provide opportunities to isolate novel therapeutic agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ulfat Baig
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune (IISER-P), Dr Homi Bhabha Road, Pashan, Pune 411008, Maharashtra, India
| | - Neelesh Dahanukar
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune (IISER-P), Dr Homi Bhabha Road, Pashan, Pune 411008, Maharashtra, India
| | - Neha Shintre
- Department of Microbiology, M.E.S. Abasaheb Garware College, Pune 411004, Maharashtra, India
| | - Ketki Holkar
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune (IISER-P), Dr Homi Bhabha Road, Pashan, Pune 411008, Maharashtra, India
| | - Anagha Pund
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune (IISER-P), Dr Homi Bhabha Road, Pashan, Pune 411008, Maharashtra, India
| | - Uttara Lele
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune (IISER-P), Dr Homi Bhabha Road, Pashan, Pune 411008, Maharashtra, India
| | - Tejal Gujarathi
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune (IISER-P), Dr Homi Bhabha Road, Pashan, Pune 411008, Maharashtra, India
| | - Kajal Patel
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune (IISER-P), Dr Homi Bhabha Road, Pashan, Pune 411008, Maharashtra, India
| | - Avantika Jakati
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune (IISER-P), Dr Homi Bhabha Road, Pashan, Pune 411008, Maharashtra, India
| | - Ruby Singh
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune (IISER-P), Dr Homi Bhabha Road, Pashan, Pune 411008, Maharashtra, India
| | - Harshada Vidwans
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune (IISER-P), Dr Homi Bhabha Road, Pashan, Pune 411008, Maharashtra, India
| | - Vaijayanti Tamhane
- Institute of Bioinformatics and Biotechnology, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune 411007, Maharashtra, India
| | - Neelima Deshpande
- Department of Microbiology, M.E.S. Abasaheb Garware College, Pune 411004, Maharashtra, India
| | - Milind Watve
- Behavioural Intervention for Lifestyle Disorders (BILD) Clinic, Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital and Research Centre, Erandwane, Pune 411004, Maharashtra, India
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Abstract
Predator impacts on prey diversity are often studied among higher organisms over short periods, but microbial predator-prey systems allow examination of prey-diversity dynamics over evolutionary timescales. We previously showed that Escherichia coli commonly evolved minority mucoid phenotypes in response to predation by the bacterial predator Myxococcus xanthus by one time point of a coevolution experiment now named MyxoEE-6. Here we examine mucoid frequencies across several MyxoEE-6 timepoints to discriminate between the hypotheses that mucoids were increasing to fixation, stabilizing around equilibrium frequencies, or heading to loss toward the end of MyxoEE-6. In four focal coevolved prey populations, mucoids rose rapidly early in the experiment and then fluctuated within detectable minority frequency ranges through the end of MyxoEE-6, generating frequency dynamics suggestive of negative frequency-dependent selection. However, a competition experiment between mucoid and non-mucoid clones found a predation-specific advantage of the mucoid clone that was insensitive to frequency over the examined range, leaving the mechanism that maintains minority mucoidy unresolved. The advantage of mucoidy under predation was found to be associated with reduced population size after growth (productivity) in the absence of predators, suggesting a tradeoff between productivity and resistance to predation that we hypothesize may reverse mucoid vs non-mucoid fitness ranks within each MyxoEE-6 cycle. We also found that mucoidy was associated with diverse colony phenotypes and diverse candidate mutations primarily localized in the exopolysaccharide operon yjbEFGH. Collectively, our results show that selection from predatory bacteria can generate apparently stable sympatric phenotypic polymorphisms within coevolving prey populations and also allopatric diversity across populations by selecting for diverse mutations and colony phenotypes associated with mucoidy. More broadly, our results suggest that myxobacterial predation increases long-term diversity within natural microbial communities.
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Kaljević J, Saaki TNV, Govers SK, Remy O, van Raaphorst R, Lamot T, Laloux G. Chromosome choreography during the non-binary cell cycle of a predatory bacterium. Curr Biol 2021; 31:3707-3720.e5. [PMID: 34256020 PMCID: PMC8445325 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.06.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2021] [Revised: 05/13/2021] [Accepted: 06/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
In bacteria, the dynamics of chromosome replication and segregation are tightly coordinated with cell-cycle progression and largely rely on specific spatiotemporal arrangement of the chromosome. Whereas these key processes are mostly investigated in species that divide by binary fission, they remain mysterious in bacteria producing larger number of descendants. Here, we establish the predatory bacterium Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus as a model to investigate the non-binary processing of a circular chromosome. We found that its single chromosome is highly compacted in a polarized nucleoid that excludes freely diffusing proteins during the non-proliferative stage of the cell cycle. A binary-like cycle of DNA replication and asymmetric segregation is followed by multiple asynchronous rounds of replication and progressive ParABS-dependent partitioning, uncoupled from cell division. Finally, we provide the first evidence for an on-off behavior of the ParB protein, which localizes at the centromere in a cell-cycle-regulated manner. Altogether, our findings support a model of complex chromosome choreography leading to the generation of variable, odd, or even numbers of offspring and highlight the adaptation of conserved mechanisms to achieve non-binary reproduction. The Bdellovibrio chromosome is polarized, with ori located near the invasive pole The highly compacted nucleoid excludes cytosolic proteins in non-replicative cells Replication and segregation of chromosomes are uncoupled from cell division The centromeric protein ParB localizes at parS in a cell-cycle-dependent manner
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Affiliation(s)
- Jovana Kaljević
- de Duve Institute, UCLouvain, 75 Avenue Hippocrate, 1200 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Terrens N V Saaki
- de Duve Institute, UCLouvain, 75 Avenue Hippocrate, 1200 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Sander K Govers
- de Duve Institute, UCLouvain, 75 Avenue Hippocrate, 1200 Brussels, Belgium; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Ophélie Remy
- de Duve Institute, UCLouvain, 75 Avenue Hippocrate, 1200 Brussels, Belgium
| | | | - Thomas Lamot
- de Duve Institute, UCLouvain, 75 Avenue Hippocrate, 1200 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Géraldine Laloux
- de Duve Institute, UCLouvain, 75 Avenue Hippocrate, 1200 Brussels, Belgium.
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Sathyamoorthy R, Huppert A, Kadouri DE, Jurkevitch E. Effects of the prey landscape on the fitness of the bacterial predators Bdellovibrio and like organisms. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 2021; 97:6178867. [PMID: 33739375 DOI: 10.1093/femsec/fiab047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2020] [Accepted: 03/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Bdellovibrio and like organisms (BALOs) are obligate predatory bacteria commonly encountered in the environment. In dual predator-prey cultures, prey accessibility ensures optimal feeding and replication and rapid BALO population growth. However, the environmental prey landscape is complex, as it also incorporates non-prey cells and other particles. These may act as decoys, generating unproductive encounters which in turn may affect both predator and prey population dynamics. In this study, we hypothesized that increasing decoy:prey ratios would bring about increasing costs on the predator's reproductive fitness. We also tested the hypothesis that different BALOs and decoys would have different effects. To this end, we constructed prey landscapes including periplasmic or epibiotic predators including two types of decoy under a large range of initial decoy:prey ratio, and mixed cultures containing multiple predators and prey. We show that as decoy:prey ratios increase, the maximal predator population sizes is reduced and the time to reach it significantly increases. We found that BALOs spent less time handling non-prey (including superinfection-immune invaded prey) than prey cells, and did not differentiate between efficient and less efficient prey. This may explain why in multiple predator and prey cultures, less preferred prey appear to act as decoy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rajesh Sathyamoorthy
- Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, 76100, Israel
| | - Amit Huppert
- Bio-statistical Unit, The Gertner Institute for Epidemiology and Health Policy Research, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel
| | - Daniel E Kadouri
- Department of Oral Biology, Rutgers School of Dental Medicine, Newark, NJ, USA
| | - Edouard Jurkevitch
- Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, 76100, Israel
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