• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.48-55
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• 2004

Six strains of an obligate predatory bdellovibrio isolate that preys on Burkholderia glumae in rice paddy field water and rhizosphere soil, were identified and characterized. The numbers of Bdellovibrio cells varied from $3.2{\times}10^3$ to $9.2{\times}10^3$ plaque-forming unit/g after enrichment in cells of B. glumae. Prey range tests with six Bdellovibrio strains and 17 prey strains of rice-pathogenic, antibiosis-related, or nitrogen-fixing bacteria resulted in unique predation patterns in related prey cells. Strain BG282 had the widest prey range on 7 plant pathogenic bacteria among the 17 prey strains tested. However, no predation occurred with strains of Azospirillum brasilense, Paenibacillus polymyxa, Pseudomonas fluorescens, P. putida, and Serratia marcescens that are associated with antibiosis or nitrogen fixation in the rice ecosystem. Identification was confirmed by the presence of typical bdelloplast in the prey cells of B. glumae and by a PCR assay using B. bacteriovorus-specific primers. Furthermore, 16S rDNA sequencing of the six bdellovibrio strains showed a homology range of 97.2% to 99.2% to the type strain of B. bacteriovorus.

• BMB Reports
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.71-78
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• 2012

Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus is a predatory bacterium which attacks and consumes other bacterial strains, including the well known pathogens E. coli O157 : H7, Salmonella typhimurium and Helicobacter pylori. This remarkable activity has been the focus of research for nearly five decades, with exciting practical applications to medical, agriculture and farming practices recently being published. This article reviews many of the exciting steps research into this bacterium, and similar bacteria, has taken, focusing primarily on their use as both an antibiotic to remove harmful and pathogenic bacteria and as a probiotic to help curb and control the bacterial populations within the intestinal tract. Owing to the unique and dual nature of this bacterium, this review proposes the use of "amphibiotic" to describe these bacteria and their activities.