Functional amyloid proteins confer defence against predatory bacteria.

ABSTRACT: Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus is a predatory bacterium that non-selectively preys on Gram-negative bacteria by invading the prey-cell periplasm, leaching host nutrients and ultimately lysing the infected cell to exit and find a new host^1,2. The predatory life cycle of B. bacteriovorus is, in many ways, comparable to a bacteriophage. However, unlike phage defence, defence against B. bacteriovorus has not been widely investigated. Here we screened a collection of diverse Escherichia coli strains for resistance to B. bacteriovorus and identified that roughly one-third of strains robustly defended against predation by producing curli fibres. Curli fibres are oligomers of the functional amyloid protein CsgA, which is exceptionally durable³. Using genetics and microscopy, we d

SUBMITTER: Ledvina HE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12419547 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature