474: Stalker Cells Stop Seafood Sickness

This episode: Predatory bacteria could protect lobster farms from
disease-causing bacteria!


Download Episode (4.8 MB, 7 minutes)

Show notes:
Microbe of the episode: Gordonia rubripertincta


 



 



Takeaways



Antibiotics have done wonders for controlling bacterial
pathogens. Many people have lived that would otherwise have
died, and some industries have produced much more than they
would have, particularly those involved in animal farming.
However, more and more targeted pathogens are developing
resistance to the antibiotics we have, and new ones are
harder to discover, so alternative approaches are
needed.

Here, predatory bacteria take the place of antibiotics in a
study on farmed spiny lobsters. These predators swim after
and attach to prey bacteria, hollowing out their contents
to use as nutrients to make more predators. They do not
hurt the lobsters, but the study finds they do reduce the
number of pathogenic prey organisms injected into the
lobsters at the same time.


 
Journal Paper:
Ooi MC, Goulden EF, Smith GG, Bridle ARY 2021. 2021.
Predatory bacteria in the haemolymph of the cultured spiny
lobster Panulirus ornatus. Microbiology 167:001113.




Other interesting stories:



3D-printing bacterial biofilms

Review of latest in oncolytic (cancer-killing) viruses




 


Email questions or comments to bacteriofiles at gmail dot
com. Thanks for listening!


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