Bdellovibrio and like organisms (BALOs) prey on Gram-negative bacteria in the planktonic phase as well as in biofilms, with the ability to reduce prey populations by orders of magnitude. During the last few years, evidence has mounted for a significant ecological role for BALOs, with important implications for our understanding of microbial community dynamics as well as for applications against pathogens, including drug-resistant pathogens, in medicine, agriculture and aquaculture, and in industrial settings for various uses. However, our understanding of biofilm predation by BALOs is still very fragmentary, including gaps in their effect on biofilm structure, on prey resistance, and on evolutionary outcomes of both predators and prey. Furthermore, their impact on biofilms has been shown to reach beyond predation, as they are reported to reduce biofilm structures of non-prey cells (including Gram-positive bacteria). Here, we review the available literature on BALOs in biofilms, extending known aspects to potential mechanisms employed by the predators to grow in biofilms. Within that context, we discuss the potential ecological significance and potential future utilization of the predatory and enzymatic possibilities offered by BALOs in medical, agricultural and environmental applications.

中文翻译：

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Bdellovibrio 与生物膜中的类似生物和细菌之间的相互作用：超越捕食者 - 猎物动力学

小弧菌和类似生物（BALO）在浮游阶段和生物膜中捕食革兰氏阴性细菌，具有将猎物数量减少几个数量级的能力。在过去的几年里，越来越多的证据表明 BALO 具有重要的生态作用，这对我们了解微生物群落动态以及在医学、农业和水产养殖中针对病原体（包括耐药病原体）的应用以及在各种用途的工业环境。然而，我们对 BALO 捕食生物膜的理解仍然非常零散，包括它们对生物膜结构、猎物抵抗力以及捕食者和猎物进化结果的影响方面的差距。此外，它们对生物膜的影响已被证明超越了捕食，因为据报道它们会减少非猎物细胞（包括革兰氏阳性细菌）的生物膜结构。在这里，我们回顾了关于生物膜中 BALO 的现有文献，将已知方面扩展到捕食者在生物膜中生长的潜在机制。在此背景下，我们讨论了 BALO 在医疗、农业和环境应用中提供的掠夺性和酶促可能性的潜在生态意义和潜在的未来利用。