• Question: Can 1 bacteria 'eat' another bacteria.if so do they have to be bigger than the other one or are the smaller ones able to get bigger ones.

    Asked by Sheldon Cooper to Eleni, Hannah, Jenny, Oli, Steven on 15 Nov 2016.
    • Photo: Eleni Vikeli

      Eleni Vikeli answered on 15 Nov 2016:

      Hi,

      Yes they can and they are called bacterial predators.
      They don’t have to be bigger, just to have the right ‘tools’ to do so.
      For example, a bacterium called Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus eats other bacteria (including important pathogens of humans, animals and crops).
      It attacks them from inside out using enzymes (called DD-endopeptidases) that first loosen the cell walls of prey bacteria and then cause them to round up like a pufferfish, providing space as a temporary home for the predator.

      Eleni

    • Photo: Hannah Bolt

      Hannah Bolt answered on 16 Nov 2016:

      Hi,

      Yes bacteria can certinally eat one another! It’s not just a case of which bacterium is bigger, sometimes the smaller bacteria have better weapons to attack larger ones, like the ability to release toxic proteins.

      Interestingly, as well as attacking each other, bacteria can also live side by side quite happily. Many bacterial infections are caused by ‘biofilms’. Biofilms occur where cells stick together (and quite often stick to a surface too, like a surgical implant). Biofilm colonies are very often made up of lots of different fungi and bacterial species. Scientists have shown that theses different types of bacteria and fungi can help each other to survive better than if they were alone.

      Hannah

    • Photo: Steven Street

      Steven Street answered on 18 Nov 2016:

      Hiya,

      A really interesting question!

      This isn’t really my area of speciality… but I did learn something from the other answers!! Nature is very interesting 🙂

      Steve

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