Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Environmental predators as models for bacterial pathogenesis.

Hubert Hilbi1, Stefan S Weber, Curdin Ragaz

  • 1Institute of Microbiology, ETH Zürich, Wolfgang-Pauli Strasse 10, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland. hilbi@micro.biol.ethz.ch

Environmental Microbiology
|February 15, 2007
PubMed
Summary

Environmental bacteria use defense mechanisms against predators like protozoa. Non-mammalian hosts, such as Dictyostelium discoideum, reveal bacterial virulence relevant to human diseases.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

The Legionella effector RidL binds the large fission GTPase Drp1 to promote mitochondrial fragmentation.

EMBO reports·2026
Same author

Regulation of ribosome hibernation controls <i>Legionella</i> survival, infection, antibiotic tolerance, and phenotypic heterogeneity.

mBio·2026
Same author

Inter-kingdom signaling by the Legionella autoinducer LAI-1 involves the antimicrobial guanylate binding protein GBP.

PLoS pathogens·2025
Same author

Rapid Icm/Dot T4SS Inactivation Prevents Resuscitation of Heat-Induced VBNC Legionella pneumophila by Amoebae.

Environmental microbiology·2025
Same author

Small molecule communication of <i>Legionella</i>: the ins and outs of autoinducer and nitric oxide signaling.

Microbiology and molecular biology reviews : MMBR·2024
Same author

Nitric oxide signaling through three receptors regulates virulence, biofilm formation, and phenotypic heterogeneity of <i>Legionella pneumophila</i>.

mBio·2024

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Pathogenesis
  • Evolutionary Biology

Background:

  • Environmental bacteria face predation from protozoa and nematodes.
  • Bacteria evolve sophisticated defenses, including toxins and intracellular replication, to survive predation.
  • Non-mammalian hosts are increasingly utilized to study host-pathogen interactions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate bacterial defense mechanisms against predators.
  • To analyze bacterial pathogenesis using non-mammalian model organisms.
  • To understand the relevance of bacterial virulence factors in both invertebrate and mammalian hosts.

Main Methods:

  • Utilizing genetically tractable non-mammalian hosts like Dictyostelium discoideum, Caenorhabditis elegans, and Drosophila melanogaster.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Studying molecular, cellular, and organismic-level interactions between bacteria and host systems.
  • Investigating virulence mechanisms of opportunistic pathogens including Legionella, Mycobacterium, Pseudomonas, and Vibrio.

    • Main Results:

    • Bacterial defense strategies against protozoa and nematodes were elucidated.
    • Virulence mechanisms of opportunistic pathogens were characterized in non-mammalian models.
    • Bacterial interactions with invertebrate hosts provided insights into pathogenesis relevant to mammalian infections.

    Conclusions:

    • Non-mammalian model hosts are valuable tools for studying bacterial pathogenesis.
    • Understanding bacterial virulence in protozoa, nematodes, and insects offers insights into human disease.
    • Coevolutionary pressures drive the development of bacterial defense mechanisms with broad host relevance.