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Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus: More than Just a Bacterial Hunter

Tayyab Saleem

Tayyab Saleem

School of Science, Monash UniversitySubang Jaya, Malaysia
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Saleem, Tayyab
, 
Muhammad Ishfaq

Muhammad Ishfaq

Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Khyber Medical UniversityPeshawar, Pakistan
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Ishfaq, Muhammad
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Muhammad Faheem

Muhammad Faheem

Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Medical SciencesRawalpindi, Pakistan
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Faheem, Muhammad
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Syed Babar Jamal

Syed Babar Jamal

Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Medical SciencesRawalpindi, Pakistan
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Jamal, Syed Babar
  
Nov 30, 2022
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Published Online: Nov 30, 2022
Page range: 169 - 178
Received: May 01, 2022
Accepted: Sep 01, 2022
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/am-2022-018
Keywords
© 2022 Tayyab Saleem et al., published by Sciendo
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Fig. 1

(Adapted from “The Role of ILC2s in Asthma Pathogenesis”, by BioRender.com (2022). Retrieved from https://app.biorender.com/biorender-templates)Description: A visual representation of the type of research conducted in the last decade concerning B. bacteriovorus. The review uses studies from the following areas to establish the antibacterial properties of the predator. 1a) The features of predation highlighted by the studies from the last decade provide new insight into the predation process. Followed by the 1b) In-vitro testing of the species to establish B. bacteriovorus as non-cytotoxic toward human cell lines and effective in preying on known gram-negative pathogens. Moreover, using this information to conduct 1c) In-vivo animal studies to test whether the knowledge gained from in-vitro studies translates well in animals. But also, to use a mammalian model in mice to study the predator’s safety to gain some idea of its efficacy in humans. Lastly, 1d) Industrial applications provide a different perspective on B. bacteriovorus. As its ability to prey on gram-negative species is put to use in various commercial settings. Ranging from its role in the food industry, it can prevent spoilage from gram-negative species like E. coli. To a more sophisticated field like Biotechnology, using its hydrolytic enzymes, it can obtain hard-to-extract biopolymers like polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) from the cytoplasm of gram-negative bacteria. Adding to the reputation of B. bacteriovorus for being efficacious against gram-negative bacteria and being multifaceted. With most of the reviewed studies suggesting the use of this species as an antibiotic replacement, substantial evidence to merit the safety of this predator as an antimicrobial agent in humans is still missing. There are other areas of B. bacteriovorus, including its genome, that have received considerable attention in the last decade but lie beyond the scope of this review.
(Adapted from “The Role of ILC2s in Asthma Pathogenesis”, by BioRender.com (2022). Retrieved from https://app.biorender.com/biorender-templates)Description: A visual representation of the type of research conducted in the last decade concerning B. bacteriovorus. The review uses studies from the following areas to establish the antibacterial properties of the predator. 1a) The features of predation highlighted by the studies from the last decade provide new insight into the predation process. Followed by the 1b) In-vitro testing of the species to establish B. bacteriovorus as non-cytotoxic toward human cell lines and effective in preying on known gram-negative pathogens. Moreover, using this information to conduct 1c) In-vivo animal studies to test whether the knowledge gained from in-vitro studies translates well in animals. But also, to use a mammalian model in mice to study the predator’s safety to gain some idea of its efficacy in humans. Lastly, 1d) Industrial applications provide a different perspective on B. bacteriovorus. As its ability to prey on gram-negative species is put to use in various commercial settings. Ranging from its role in the food industry, it can prevent spoilage from gram-negative species like E. coli. To a more sophisticated field like Biotechnology, using its hydrolytic enzymes, it can obtain hard-to-extract biopolymers like polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) from the cytoplasm of gram-negative bacteria. Adding to the reputation of B. bacteriovorus for being efficacious against gram-negative bacteria and being multifaceted. With most of the reviewed studies suggesting the use of this species as an antibiotic replacement, substantial evidence to merit the safety of this predator as an antimicrobial agent in humans is still missing. There are other areas of B. bacteriovorus, including its genome, that have received considerable attention in the last decade but lie beyond the scope of this review.

Fig. 2

(Adapted from “Lytic and Lysogenic Cycle”, by BioRender.com (2022). Retrieved from https://app.biorender.com/biorender-templates)Description: The life cycle of the predatory, gram-negative bacterial species B. bacteriovorus. The life cycle is divided into an Attack Phase (AP) and a Growth Phase (GP). AP: (1. Predator searches for and locates its prey (a gram-negative bacterial host) using chemotaxis followed by swimming towards the prey using its flagellum. 2. B. bacteriovorus, upon finding its prey, attaches to its cell wall). GP: (3. Predator uses its massive arsenal of hydrolytic enzymes to enter the prey cell and feed on the prey cell cytoplasm using hydrolases. The host cell is now called a bdelloplast. 4. The predator grows and forms a polynucleoid filament, almost the size of the prey cell itself. 5. Filament undergoes septation. 6. A new line of AP cells is released. 7. The bdelloplast peptidoglycan undergoes deacetylation by the newly formed AP cells. Thus, they are released. And the cycle repeats itself [14, 23, 36, 40, 53, 63, 67, 68].
(Adapted from “Lytic and Lysogenic Cycle”, by BioRender.com (2022). Retrieved from https://app.biorender.com/biorender-templates)Description: The life cycle of the predatory, gram-negative bacterial species B. bacteriovorus. The life cycle is divided into an Attack Phase (AP) and a Growth Phase (GP). AP: (1. Predator searches for and locates its prey (a gram-negative bacterial host) using chemotaxis followed by swimming towards the prey using its flagellum. 2. B. bacteriovorus, upon finding its prey, attaches to its cell wall). GP: (3. Predator uses its massive arsenal of hydrolytic enzymes to enter the prey cell and feed on the prey cell cytoplasm using hydrolases. The host cell is now called a bdelloplast. 4. The predator grows and forms a polynucleoid filament, almost the size of the prey cell itself. 5. Filament undergoes septation. 6. A new line of AP cells is released. 7. The bdelloplast peptidoglycan undergoes deacetylation by the newly formed AP cells. Thus, they are released. And the cycle repeats itself [14, 23, 36, 40, 53, 63, 67, 68].
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