Dynamics of Chromosome Replication and Its Relationship to Predatory Attack Lifestyles in Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus

• Łukasz Makowski ^[1] ; Damian Trojanowski ^[2] ; Rob Till ^[3] ; Carey Lambert ^[3] ; Rebecca Lowry ^[3] ; R. Elizabeth Sockett ^[3] ; Jolanta Zakrzewska-Czerwińska ^[2]
  1. [1] Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy

     Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy

     Breslavia, Polonia

     
  2. [2] University of Wrocław

     University of Wrocław

     Breslavia, Polonia

     
  3. [3] University of Nottingham

     University of Nottingham

     Reino Unido

     

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• Localización: Applied and Environmental Microbiology, ISSN 0099-2240, Vol. 85, Nº 14, 2019
• Idioma: inglés
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  • New strategies are needed to combat multidrug-resistant bacterial infections. Application of the predatory bacterium Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus, which kills other bacteria, including pathogens, is considered promising for combating bacterial infections. The B. bacteriovorus life cycle consists of two phases, a free-living, invasive attack phase and an intracellular reproductive phase, in which this predatory bacterium degrades the host’s macromolecules and reuses them for its own growth. To understand the use of B. bacteriovorus as a “living antibiotic,” it is first necessary to dissect its life cycle, including chromosome replication. Here, we present a real-time investigation into subcellular localization of chromosome replication in a single cell of B. bacteriovorus. This process initiates at the invasion pole of B. bacteriovorus and proceeds until several copies of the chromosome have been completely synthesized. Interestingly, we demonstrate that some cells of B. bacteriovorus require two prey cells sequentially to complete their life cycle.