Vampirococcus

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Figure 1--Vampirococcus
Vampirococcus cells (red) attached to a Chromatium prey (light green) by the means of electron-dense material [3]

Classification

Higher order taxa

Kingdom: Prokaryotae

  • Domain: Bacteria
    • Phylum: Unknown
      • Class: Unknown
        • Order: Unknown
          • Family: Unknown

As of 2008, "Phylogenetic Analysis of Vampirococcus and Daptobacter has yet to be undertaken...[1]"

Species

  • Genus: Vampirococcus
  • Species: Unknown


Description and significance

Vampriococcus is one of few known predatory prokaryotes. It is a 0.6 micrometer, ovidal bacteria of which no modal forms have been found. It is a gram-negative bacteria that is found in freshwater sulfurous lakes in northern Spain. As an anaerobic epibiont, it attaches itself to the surface of Chromatium a phototropic bacteria, by specific structures, and as it grows and devides by fission, it destroys its prey [2]. The structures used by Vampirococcus to attach itself to its prey could best be described as cytoplasmic "bridges." From these bridges, a connection is established to the prey which allows the Vampirococcus bacterium to degrade the preys cytoplasm [4]


Genomic Structure

"Phylogenetic Analysis of Vampirococcus and Daptobacter has yet to be undertaken (as they have not yet been grown in culture)" [1]. The article goes on to say that Vampirococcus may be related to Deltaproterbacteria and Bdellovibro due to the manor of their growth.


Cell Structure and Metabolism

Vampirococcus attaches itself to the cell wall of species of Chromatium and reproduces while "sucking out" the cellular components of Chromatium[2]. It's environment also suggests that it can also anaerobic conditions.

Ecology

Vampirococcus has only been found in lakes in Northeastern Spain, having been studied in Lake Estanya and Lake Ciso. The Lakes are high in calcium sulfate and anhydrite as well as sulfates. It is in these conditions that Chromatium and Vampirococcus can grow. Because Chromatium can only grow in sunlight, the further down into the lake the lower the concentration of bacteria, and as a result the less Vampirococcus can reproduce.

Figure 2--Vampirococcus
Vampirococcus cells (small cells) attached to a Chromatium prey, with the outer membrane penetrated and darker plaque [2]

Pathology

While not a pathogenic species, Vampirococcus is a predatory bacteria that attaches to Chromatium in order to reproduce.

Current Research

Important current research concerning Vampirococcus has been proposed by researchers attempting to use the bacterium as an anti-tumor agent. In nature, Vampirococcus preys on fresh-water purple sulfur bacteria known as Chromatium minus. The researchers believe that the target tumors, which are mainly anaerobic and contain copious amounts of cysteine similar to Chromatium, can be targeted by the predatory Vampirococcus cells. As an epibiont organism, the Vampirococcus will remain on the outside of the cell that it is attacking, and only multiply when attached to a prey cancer cell. Following the degradation of the cancer cells, the Vampirococcus will be unable to proliferate in the patient’s body due to their epibiont nature. The benefit of the epibiont nature of Vampirococcus is twofold: as aforementioned, the bacterium will be unable to proliferate following the degradation of the cancer cells, but prior to that, will continuously divide with the presence of the cancer cells, thus eliminating the need for multiple therapy treatments. In theory, this seems a plausible means to anti-cancer therapy.

Cool Factor

Sources

[1] Whitworth, David E. "Myxobacteria [electronic resource] : multicellularity and differentiation" Washington, DC : ASM Press, c2008.

[2] Ricardo Guerrero,Carlos Pedros-Alio Et al. Predatory prokaryotes: Predation and primary consumption evolved in bacteria, Evolution and Microbiology, Vol. 83, pp. 2138-2142, April 1986

[3] Edouard Jurkevitch,Predatory Behaviors in Bacteria—Diversity and Transitions, Microbe Volume 2, Number 2, 2007

[4] Martin, Mark O. Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology. Predatory Prokaryotes: An Emerging Research Opportunity, Vol. 4, Issue 5, pp. 467–477, 2002