Predatory bacteria: Living Antibiotics, Biocontrol Agents, or Probiotics?

A Journal of Postdoctoral Research.

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ISSN : 2328-9791

Predatory bacteria: Living Antibiotics, Biocontrol Agents, or Probiotics?

F. Heath Damron and Mariette Barbier

University of Virginia

Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Cancer Biology, UVa, Charlottesville, Virginia, 22098, USA.

fhd3x@virginia.edu

Predatory bacteria seek out and kill other bacteria for food. These predators have been hypothesized to be useful "living antibiotics." Here, we discuss the applications for which these bacteria have been used. Recent data suggested predators are prevalent in the environment and can even be isolated from the human GI tract. These studies have prompted us to discuss the logical applications as well as the terminology associated with the use of these remarkable organisms. It has been hypothesized many times that these bacteria could be the key to developing novel treatments and now more than ever we need to investigate these applications in light of the rise in multi-drug resistance among medically important bacteria.