Life
Growing up at a different temperature seems to transform common prey bacteria into predators, suggesting that bacterial ecology is more fluid than we thought
By Christie Taylor
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Two species of bacteria appear to reverse which is predator and which is prey depending on the temperature. Just a small temperature change is enough to cause the switch.
The soil bacteria Myxococcus xanthus is a social species that hunts in packs – it forms temporary, multicellular “swarms” of individuals that chemically tear apart and soak up nutrients from other microbes. And its prey includes Pseudomonas fluorescens, a bacterium common in both soil and water.…
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