cytoplasmic bacterial predation

traitmech:000700 · CLASS · PROPOSED

A predatory bacterial phenotype in which a bacterium enters the cytoplasm of a bacterial prey cell and grows and reproduces there by consuming and degrading the prey cytoplasm.

Trait evidence (2)

DOI:10.1073/pnas.83.7.2138
Daptobacter penetrates both membranes of the prey cell walls and reproduces in their degrading cytoplasm.

Guerrero et al. 1986, PMID:11542073, PMC323246, Figure 2E caption continued on p. 2141. Full five-page primary paper read from the Europe PMC PDF, including Methods, Results and Discussion, Table 2 and the note added in proof; actual Figure 2E/F micrographs and continued caption visually inspected. Enrichment-culture thin sections support prey-cytoplasmic invasion, degradation and division; these are not live-cell time courses or nutrient-tracing experiments. Figure 3 is a schematic, not additional experimental imaging. The scientific abstract was independently retrieved with EXT_ID:11542073 AND SRC:MED and title/DOI checked. MED and Crossref exposed no linked correction/retraction; publisher notice access returned HTTP 403, so that status is unverified. Source: https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC323246?pdf=render.
https://lpsn.dsmz.de/genus/daptobacter
invade their host cells and replicate in the cytoplasm, consuming their prey from the inside out

LPSN genus Daptobacter, Notes, directly retrieved 2026-10-11. LPSN quotes this description from Madigan et al. 2019; that book was not independently read. Supports established terminology, not independent experimental replication of Guerrero et al. LPSN marks the genus name not validly published and preferred rather than correct. Its permanent record link is https://doi.org/10.83108/rn.684. The nomenclatural record is not evidence for a sequence-defined lineage or an NCBITaxon mapping.

Provenance

Identifier source: TraitMech local identifier
Definition source: DOI:10.1073/pnas.83.7.2138

Parent traits (1)

predatory bacterium traitmech:000054

kg-microbe context

No kg-microbe node embedding matched this record in the 2026-04-25 deepwalk.

Discussions and Knowledge Gaps (2)

Open questions attached to this trait. Seeded by just knowledge-gap-scan and curated; see the corpus-wide index.

Keep prey-cytoplasmic feeding distinct from generic intracellular residence.

CURATION TODO OPEN cytoplasmic-predation-boundaries-and-mappings · raised by codex · 2026-10-11

Not yet attached to a section of this record — a curator sets attaches_to (e.g. causal_graphs#some_edge) so the gap shows beside the mechanism it concerns.

Predatory bacterium traitmech:000054 supplies the broader trophic phenotype. Periplasmic bacterial predation traitmech:000699 has a different replication compartment; epibiotic bacterial predation traitmech:000697 keeps the predator cell body external. Generic endobiotic or intracellular predation, endoparasitism and endosymbiosis are not exact synonyms. Guerrero et al. discuss predator/parasite and primary-consumer terminology on pp. 2141-2142; the operational feeding/location definition here does not settle that broader ecological vocabulary. Entry alone or intracellular growth without destructive prey consumption is insufficient. No organism-level disjointness, fixed prey range or obligate prey dependence is asserted. Exact synonyms and authority-backed xrefs remain unassigned pending scope reconciliation.

Resolve the historical isolate and its mechanism before grounding examples.

KNOWLEDGE GAP OPEN cytoplasmic-predation-taxon-and-mechanism · raised by codex · 2026-10-11

Not yet attached to a section of this record — a curator sets attaches_to (e.g. causal_graphs#some_edge) so the gap shows beside the mechanism it concerns.

The primary study describes Daptobacter in lake-derived enrichment cultures and reports axenic growth; it does not make cytoplasmic predation an obligate lifestyle. No exact NCBITaxon identity for the observed material has been established in this curation, so canonical_examples is intentionally omitted. LPSN nomenclature does not supply that missing mapping. The second evidence item is terminology support, not another experiment. Protein-resolved mechanism, modern replication and lineage breadth remain open; do not infer causal machinery from a taxon name, sequence prediction or the different Bdellovibrio model. No causal graph or protein examples are proposed.

Curation history

2026-10-11T15:30:45Z · MINTED_TRAITMECH_ID · codex
Added cytoplasmic bacterial predation beneath predatory bacterium with primary microscopy and explicitly secondary LPSN terminology evidence, both carrying checked snippets. Ignored/hidden main/worktree and pending-PR checks support 000700 and v576 block 1065300-1065399. Existing records unchanged; taxon identity, mappings and mechanism remain open. Timestamp records the observed UTC curation decision.

Recorded curation sessions

2026-10-11T15:34:12Z · codex
- CREATE — Add evidence-backed cytoplasmic bacterial predation
  Added traitmech:000700 at PROPOSED under predatory bacterium, with a primary Figure 2E caption snippet from DOI:10.1073/pnas.83.7.2138 (PMID:11542073; full PDF and actual microscopy read) and explicitly secondary LPSN terminology evidence at https://lpsn.dsmz.de/genus/daptobacter. No taxon ID or protein mechanism inferred; two open scope and evidence discussions retained. Main/worktree ignored-and-hidden novelty searches, full-block reservation checks, live upstream snapshots and complete open/draft PR file lists support v576 METPO:1065300-1065399. Native writer dry run and schema prevalidation were used. Existing TraitRecords are unchanged; generated products and full validation/review follow in this branch.
Read this curation session