In a laboratory encounter between two bacterial cells: the first was a Vibrio coralliilyticus cell, which is a large rod-shaped marine microbe, and the second was a very small microbe, Halobacteriovorax, which caught the larger bacteria.
In a lengthy report published on the New York Times on August 25, author "Katherine J Woo" addresses this confrontation that took place in an American academic laboratory.
Predatory bacteria
Desperate vibro bacteria sought to get rid of their attacker, writhing and spinning in a pool of liquid, zigzagging in futility before finally reaching a "stark stop" as described by Dr. Laura Williams, a microbiologist at Florida A&M University.
Then the halo bacteria began to operate: they puncture the outer part of the vibro and begin to penetrate into the inner cavity, where it will sink into the guts of its host, reproduce itself several times and set off freely to find its next meal.
These predatory bacteria hold enormous promise for superb practical applications. It can help people overcome harmful microbes in the environment, or cleanse pathogens from the food supply.
And some experts believe that it could one day serve as a kind of live treatment, helping to clear drug-resistant germs from patients whose other treatments have failed.
To use this group of microbes as a live antibiotic "we need to know how it grows (as) we can't use it if we don't understand it," says Terens Sackey, a microbiologist who studies predatory bacteria at the de Duve Institute in Belgium.
Small horror
Predatory bacteria were discovered by chance, as scientists found them more than half a century ago while searching for another type of deadly microbe called bacteriophage, or a virus that can infect and kill bacteria. Before that, "it was not known that bacteria preyed on other bacteria in this way," says Dr. Laura.
This predatory bacterium has been unable to detect for a surprisingly long time. Dozens of species teem with seas and hills of dust, believed to be strong enough to hold the guts of animals, including ours, and appear to be found everywhere from raw sewage to the gills of crabs.
But phages and predatory bacteria are completely different monsters. Phages tend to target a narrow range of hosts, whereas many predatory bacteria are less convinced.
Some predatory bacteria are amenable to eating tens or even hundreds of bacterial species, enabling them to thrive in most habitats. While phages act quickly, and within hours, predatory bacteria reproduce, sometimes taking weeks to grow in the laboratory.
However, her predatory lifestyle is so fruitful that it seems to have evolved more than once. In general, predatory bacteria are "very effective killing machines", says Daniel Kaddouri, a microbiologist at Rotgers University who has studied predatory bacteria since 2003.
Live treatments
In animal studies, predatory bacteria have shown promising results in targeting pathogenic bacteria such as salmonella and Yersinia pestis that cause plague.
Dr. Kaddouri and Nancy Connell, a microbial geneticist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, administered a dose of Bdellovibrios into the lungs of rats and mice, and watched them devour most prey.
Predatory bacteria have no interest in non-microbial cells, and they do not appear to stimulate the immune system even when placed directly on the surface of a rabbit's eyeball.
Dr. says. Kaddouri said that this indicates that these microbes could be safe for use on humans. "We pushed a lot of predatory bacteria to animals and we never experienced an aggressive immune response."
But these predators only thrive in the presence of their prey, so they usually struggle to conquer entire groups of microbes on their own. As microbes, they will eventually be excreted from the body by immune cells, which "have no defense whatsoever," said Dr. Connell.
As a result, predatory bacteria are not a strong candidate for treating infections that have already spread throughout the body. However, predatory bacteria, when managed in the right way, may be persuaded to act in concert with the immune response to eliminate their targets.
They may also be combined with another treatment such as an antibiotic or even a light dose of phages.
Dr. Kaddouri "We need to start thinking about comprehensive approaches. It is another tool in the arsenal."
system recovery
Predatory bacteria are not exclusively weapons of destruction. In Germany, Dr. Junke is working on a series of projects highlighting the peacemaking skills of microbes in the complex community of gut bacteria.
She says some evidence indicates that "healthy humans usually have predatory bacteria" as part of the bacterial community that coexists naturally in the human body. She added that very little was understood about her role. But it will likely keep order in the gut and ensure not a single type is depleted.
Dr Juncke's work suggests that people with digestive disorders may have lost this delicate balance.
And reintroducing predatory bacteria into the human body's bacterial system may help restore it. "In my ideal world, we could use penetrating predatory bacteria as a kind of microorganism," Junke said.
It is also possible to use a similar dynamic in nature, as Dr Williams has turned most of her attention to this, as even small amounts of predatory bacteria can completely reorganize the microbial organism of a sample of seawater.