Dual Predation by Bacteriophage and Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus Can Eradicate Escherichia coli Prey in Situations where Single Predation Cannot
Abstract
With increasing levels of antibiotic resistance, the development of alternative antibacterial therapies is urgently needed. Two potential alternatives are bacteriophage and predatory bacteria. Bacteriophage therapy has been used, but prey/host specificity and the rapid acquisition of bacterial resistance to bacteriophage are practical considerations. Predatory bacteria are of interest due to their broad Gram-negative bacterial prey range and the lack of simple resistance mechanisms. Here, a bacteriophage and a strain of Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus , preyed side by side on a population of E. coli , causing a significantly greater decrease in prey numbers than either alone. Such combinatorial predator therapy may have greater potential than individual predators since prey surface changes selected for by each predator do not protect prey against the other predator.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Feb 25, 2020
- Source ID
- 10.1128/jb.00629-19
Entities
People
- Amy Stroud
- Andreas Leidenroth
- Carey Lambert
- David S. Milner
- Ian Connerton
- Jamie Twycross
- Jan-Ulrich Kreft
- Jess Tyson
- Kimberley Summers
- Laura Hobley
- Liz Sockett
- Michael J. Capeness
- Michelle Baker
- Rob Till
- Robert Atterbury
- Stephanie Gray
Organizations
- Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
- Human Frontier Science Program
- Microbiology Society
- Nuffield Foundation
- University of Birmingham
- University of Nottingham