Laboratory maintenance of Bdellovibrio

Abstract

Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus is a Gram-negative bacterium that preys upon other Gram-negative bacteria. It does this by penetrating the outer membrane and peptidoglycan to establish itself in the periplasm where it grows at the expense of the contents of the prey cell before ultimately lysing the prey. Wild-type Bdellovibrio are prey-(or host-) dependent and the protocols described in this unit deal with the techniques required to grow this bacterium on its prey cells. Protocols are also presented to generate and culture host-independent mutants as well as novel protocols to evaluate Bdellovibrio predation.