Sharing of Prey: Coinfection of a Bacterium by a Virus and a Prokaryotic Predator

ABSTRACT Rarely, if ever, has a single bacterial cell been confirmed to simultaneously host two fundamentally different predators. Two such predators are viruses and the predatory prokaryotes known as Bdellovibrio and like organisms. Viruses or bacteriophage are particles requiring prey cells in an...

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Autores principales:	Huan Chen, Henry N. Williams
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	American Society for Microbiology 2012
Materias:	Microbiology QR1-502
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/7eb78ee8fce549839e9a73dd25fe59a4
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:7eb78ee8fce549839e9a73dd25fe59a42021-11-15T15:39:09ZSharing of Prey: Coinfection of a Bacterium by a Virus and a Prokaryotic Predator10.1128/mBio.00051-122150-7511https://doaj.org/article/7eb78ee8fce549839e9a73dd25fe59a42012-05-01T00:00:00Zhttps://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/mBio.00051-12https://doaj.org/toc/2150-7511ABSTRACT Rarely, if ever, has a single bacterial cell been confirmed to simultaneously host two fundamentally different predators. Two such predators are viruses and the predatory prokaryotes known as Bdellovibrio and like organisms. Viruses or bacteriophage are particles requiring prey cells in an active metabolic state to complete their life cycle. The Bdellovibrio and like organisms, unlike viruses, are bacteria that can efficiently infect and grow in prey which are in stationary phase. In this study, electron microscopic examination revealed an unprecedented coinfection by the two agents of Vibrio vulnificus, introducing a new bacterial predation paradigm. Rather than the viruses and Bdellovibrio and like organisms competing for a single prey cell, both can survive in the same cell and successfully reproduce themselves. This is an especially valuable mechanism when the prey is in short supply, and the survival of the predators may be at stake. IMPORTANCE This article describes the coinfection of a prokaryotic prey or host cell by both a bacteriophage (phage) and the predatory bacterium of the group Bdellovibrio and like organisms (BALOs). Such coinfection has not been previously reported and therefore introduces a new paradigm for predation of bacteria. This finding invites new studies on the interactions of BALOs, phage, and prey in predation. Predation is an important mechanism in nature for helping to keep bacterial populations in check and also plays a major role in the cycling of nutrients through the microbial loop. How dual infection by phage and BALOs imposes on these and other functions of predation is fertile ground for future studies and serves as a keystone reference on bacterial predation and mortality.Huan ChenHenry N. WilliamsAmerican Society for MicrobiologyarticleMicrobiologyQR1-502ENmBio, Vol 3, Iss 2 (2012)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Microbiology QR1-502
spellingShingle	Microbiology QR1-502 Huan Chen Henry N. Williams Sharing of Prey: Coinfection of a Bacterium by a Virus and a Prokaryotic Predator
description	ABSTRACT Rarely, if ever, has a single bacterial cell been confirmed to simultaneously host two fundamentally different predators. Two such predators are viruses and the predatory prokaryotes known as Bdellovibrio and like organisms. Viruses or bacteriophage are particles requiring prey cells in an active metabolic state to complete their life cycle. The Bdellovibrio and like organisms, unlike viruses, are bacteria that can efficiently infect and grow in prey which are in stationary phase. In this study, electron microscopic examination revealed an unprecedented coinfection by the two agents of Vibrio vulnificus, introducing a new bacterial predation paradigm. Rather than the viruses and Bdellovibrio and like organisms competing for a single prey cell, both can survive in the same cell and successfully reproduce themselves. This is an especially valuable mechanism when the prey is in short supply, and the survival of the predators may be at stake. IMPORTANCE This article describes the coinfection of a prokaryotic prey or host cell by both a bacteriophage (phage) and the predatory bacterium of the group Bdellovibrio and like organisms (BALOs). Such coinfection has not been previously reported and therefore introduces a new paradigm for predation of bacteria. This finding invites new studies on the interactions of BALOs, phage, and prey in predation. Predation is an important mechanism in nature for helping to keep bacterial populations in check and also plays a major role in the cycling of nutrients through the microbial loop. How dual infection by phage and BALOs imposes on these and other functions of predation is fertile ground for future studies and serves as a keystone reference on bacterial predation and mortality.
format	article
author	Huan Chen Henry N. Williams
author_facet	Huan Chen Henry N. Williams
author_sort	Huan Chen
title	Sharing of Prey: Coinfection of a Bacterium by a Virus and a Prokaryotic Predator
title_short	Sharing of Prey: Coinfection of a Bacterium by a Virus and a Prokaryotic Predator
title_full	Sharing of Prey: Coinfection of a Bacterium by a Virus and a Prokaryotic Predator
title_fullStr	Sharing of Prey: Coinfection of a Bacterium by a Virus and a Prokaryotic Predator
title_full_unstemmed	Sharing of Prey: Coinfection of a Bacterium by a Virus and a Prokaryotic Predator
title_sort	sharing of prey: coinfection of a bacterium by a virus and a prokaryotic predator
publisher	American Society for Microbiology
publishDate	2012
url	https://doaj.org/article/7eb78ee8fce549839e9a73dd25fe59a4
work_keys_str_mv	AT huanchen sharingofpreycoinfectionofabacteriumbyavirusandaprokaryoticpredator AT henrynwilliams sharingofpreycoinfectionofabacteriumbyavirusandaprokaryoticpredator
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Sharing of Prey: Coinfection of a Bacterium by a Virus and a Prokaryotic Predator

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