Predatory bacteria escape unharmed from prey cell using unique tool - study

Predatory bacteria, capable of invading and consuming harmful bugs such as E.coli and Salmonella, use a unique tool to help them escape the cell they have invaded without harming themselves, according to a new study. Researchers at the Universities of Birmingham and Nottingham have identified a particular enzyme used by the bacteria to rupture the cell wall of its prey bacteria and exit without damaging its own cell wall. Their findings are published. The bacterium, called Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus, is important because the types of cells they attack - Gram negative bacteria - are responsible for many infections that are resistant to currently available antibiotics. This means predatory bacteria could have the potential to be harnessed as a therapy against these infections. Discovering precisely how Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus succeeds in invading, and then escaping its prey cells is an important step in this process. The enzyme they discovered seems like a well-known enzyme called a lysozymeone of the earliestever studied enzymes and found in human tears and saliva; but this one has a twist where it has changed to do something surprising.