EVOGENE seminar - Predatory Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus bacteria : applications and mechanisms of “living antibiotics”

Abstract: Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus naturally invade and kill a range of Gram negative bacteria, including conventionally antibiotic resistant human, animal and crop pathogens. Invasion requires TypeIV pilus action and then modification of the prey cell wall so that the Bdellovibrio, which are resident in the periplasm, can degrade the now-dead prey contents and replicate without competition from other bacteria. A series of different predatory enzymes are used in the predation process and some of these will be described. Bdellovibrio will kill prey bacteria in vivo and in vitro and recently have been successfully used to kill important pathogens in a live zebrafish model of injected infection in a collaboration with in the Mostowy lab. This killing has been shown to include a synergistic action of the innate immune cells of the fish and this bodes well for future applications as living antibiotics