Natalia Olsson Markelova
*1 Institute of Basic Biological Problems, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pushchino, Russia
2 University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
*Corresponding Author: Corresponding author: Natalia Olsson Markelova, Institute of Basic Biological Problems, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pushchino, Russia. , Email:
nmarkelova@mail.ru
Abstract
Members of the genus Bdellovibrio are small and highly motile Gram-negative predators of other Gram-negative bacteria. Bdellovibrio
enters the prey cell, transforming it into a structure that is referred to as a bdelloplast. It then grows and divides inside the
bdelloplast, ending in lysis and the release of the Bdellovibrio progeny. Because of this capability, Bdellovibrio is a potential antibacterial
agent. In this article, we report the results of studies on the interactions of Bdellovibrio with actively growing and viable but
nonculturable (VBNC) Vibrio cholerae. A significant observation was that Bdellovibrio attacked both VBNC and actively growing V.
cholerae. These results indicate that Bdellovibrio, a “living antibiotic,” has potential as an antibacterial agent in environmental and
public health bioprotection.