A Predator Unmasked: Life Cycle of
            <i>Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus</i>
            from a Genomic Perspective

Rendulic, Snjezana; Jagtap, Pratik; Rosinus, Andrea; Eppinger, Mark; Baar, Claudia; Lanz, Christa; Keller, Heike; Lambert, Carey; Evans, Katy J.; Goesmann, Alexander; Meyer, Patrick; Sockett, R. Elizabeth; Schuster, Stephan C.

doi:10.1126/science.1093027

Cited by 346 publications

(460 citation statements)

References 17 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

445

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…In contrast, a motile obligate epibiotic bacterial predator, Micavibrio aeruginosavorus, missing only the biosynthetic capacity for seven amino acids and no apparent transporters, forms the basis for explaining its obligate parasitic lifestyle (34). Another predator, Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus, is capable of synthesizing 11 amino acids but has a large repertoire of 113 transporters for transporting amino acids, peptides, or amines (35). As a phylum, TM7 appears somewhat different from these types of interactions because they may not synthesize any essential amino acids.…”

Section: Conserved Gene Synteny But Further Genome Reduction Is Evidementioning

confidence: 99%

Cultivation of a human-associated TM7 phylotype reveals a reduced genome and epibiotic parasitic lifestyle

He¹,

McLean

Edlund

et al. 2014

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

428

547

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The candidate phylum TM7 is globally distributed and often associated with human inflammatory mucosal diseases. Despite its prevalence, the TM7 phylum remains recalcitrant to cultivation, making it one of the most enigmatic phyla known. In this study, we cultivated a TM7 phylotype (TM7x) from the human oral cavity. This extremely small coccus (200-300 nm) has a distinctive lifestyle not previously observed in human-associated microbes. It is an obligate epibiont of an Actinomyces odontolyticus strain (XH001) yet also has a parasitic phase, thereby killing its host. This first completed genome (705 kb) for a human-associated TM7 phylotype revealed a complete lack of amino acid biosynthetic capacity. Comparative genomics analyses with uncultivated environmental TM7 assemblies show remarkable conserved gene synteny and only minimal gene loss/gain that may have occurred as TM7x adapted to conditions within the human host. Transcriptomic and metabolomic profiles provided the first indications, to our knowledge, that there is signaling interaction between TM7x and XH001. Furthermore, the induction of TNF-α production in macrophages by XH001 was repressed in the presence of TM7x, suggesting its potential immune suppression ability. Overall, our data provide intriguing insights into the uncultivability, pathogenicity, and unique lifestyle of this previously uncharacterized oral TM7 phylotype.TM7 | human-associated | epibiont | oral microbiome | interspecies interaction

show abstract

Section: Conserved Gene Synteny But Further Genome Reduction Is Evidementioning

confidence: 99%

Cultivation of a human-associated TM7 phylotype reveals a reduced genome and epibiotic parasitic lifestyle

He¹,

McLean

Edlund

et al. 2014

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

428

547

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Circular chromosomes were assembled, and no extra-chromosomal elements were detected. These two genomes were compared to the genomes of the periplasmic predators Bacteriovorax marinus SJ (Crossman et al, 2013), B. bacteriovorus HD100 (Rendulic et al, 2004) and of the epibiotic predator M. aeruginosavorus ARL13 (Wang et al, 2011). A detailed view of the various genomic elements is given in Table 1 and Supplementary Table S2.…”

Section: Growth Of Epibiotic Predatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

In and out: an analysis of epibiotic vs periplasmic bacterial predators

et al. 2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Bdellovibrio and like organisms (BALO) are obligate predators of Gram-negative bacteria, belonging to the a-and d-proteobacteria. BALO prey using either a periplasmic or an epibiotic predatory strategy, but the genetic background underlying these phenotypes is not known. Here we compare the epibiotic Bdellovibrio exovorus and Micavibrio aeruginosavorus to the periplasmic B. bacteriovorus and Bacteriovorax marinus. Electron microscopy showed that M. aeruginosavorus, but not B. exovorus, can attach to prey cells in a non-polar manner through its longitudinal side. Both these predators were resistant to a surprisingly high number of antibiotic compounds, possibly via 26 and 19 antibiotic-resistance genes, respectively, most of them encoding efflux pumps. Comparative genomic analysis of all the BALOs revealed that epibiotic predators have a much smaller genome (ca. 2.5 Mbp) than the periplasmic predators (ca. 3.5 Mbp). Additionally, periplasmic predators have, on average, 888 more proteins, at least 60% more peptidases, and one more rRNA operon. Fifteen and 219 protein families were specific to the epibiotic and the periplasmic predators, respectively, the latter clearly forming the core of the periplasmic 'predatome', which is upregulated during the growth phase. Metabolic deficiencies of epibiotic genomes include the synthesis of inosine, riboflavin, vitamin B6 and the siderophore aerobactin. The phylogeny of the epibiotic predators suggests that they evolved by convergent evolution, with M. aeruginosavorus originating from a non-predatory ancestor while B. exovorus evolved from periplasmic predators by gene loss.

show abstract

“…The predatory cycle of BALOs is unique in being biphasic with an extracellular 'hunt' phase, in which the organisms search for and attack its prey, and an intracellular phase. The latter phase begins when, following attack, the predator penetrates through the prey cell's outer membrane into its periplasmic space where it grows, multiplies and lyses the prey (Rendulic et al, 2004) (Figure 1). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prey bacteria shape the community structure of their predators

Chen

Athar²,

Zheng

et al. 2011

The ISME Journal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Although predator-prey interactions among higher organisms have been studied extensively, only few examples are known for microbes other than protists and viruses. Among the bacteria, the most studied obligate predators are the Bdellovibrio and like organisms (BALOs) that prey on many other bacteria. In the macroscopical world, both predator and prey influence the population size of the other's community, and may have a role in selection. However, selective pressures among prey and predatory bacteria have been rarely investigated. In this study, Bacteriovorax, a predator within the group of BALOs, in environmental waters were fed two prey bacteria, Vibrio vulnificus and Vibrio parahaemolyticus. The two prey species yielded distinct Bacteriovorax populations, evidence that selective pressures shaped the predator community and diversity. The results of laboratory experiments confirmed the differential predation of Bacteriovorax phylotypes on the two bacteria species. Not only did Bacteriovorax Cluster IX exhibit the versatility to be the exclusive efficient predator on Vibrio vulnificus, thereby, behaving as a specialist, but was also able to prey with similar efficiency on Vibrio parahaemolyticus, indicative of a generalist. Therefore, we proposed a designation of versatilist for this predator. This initiative should provide a basis for further efforts to characterize the predatory patterns of bacterial predators. The results of this study have revealed impacts of the prey on Bacteriovorax predation and in structuring the predator community, and advanced understanding of predation behavior in the microbial world.

show abstract

A Predator Unmasked: Life Cycle of Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus from a Genomic Perspective

Cited by 346 publications

References 17 publications

Cultivation of a human-associated TM7 phylotype reveals a reduced genome and epibiotic parasitic lifestyle

Cultivation of a human-associated TM7 phylotype reveals a reduced genome and epibiotic parasitic lifestyle

In and out: an analysis of epibiotic vs periplasmic bacterial predators

Prey bacteria shape the community structure of their predators

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About