The mechanisms of bacterial predation are key to understanding microbial adaptation and interactions in natural environments, yet they often involve complex processes and regulatory pathways that its intrinsic mechanisms remain poorly understood. Predatory bacteria can sense prey-released cues to aid recognition and localization, but in natural habitats, these responses are strongly influenced by environmental factors such as spatial distance, adding randomness to prey detection. This raises an intriguing question: Do predatory bacteria possess a more efficient prey localization strategy that allows them to take the “initiative” in the complex predator-prey interactions? The processes and mechanisms underlying such advanced localization strategies remain largely unexplored.
The aim of this study is to reveal a new predation mechanism by studying the dynamic interaction between predatory bacterial Lysobacter enzymogenes and its prey bacteria. In this mechanism, predatory bacteria secrete peptidoglycan hydrolases LssL in two steps to locate prey, known as the bacterial “peptidoglycan hydrolase-driven Prey Localization and Utilization System” (phPLUS). The phPLUS confirms that peptidoglycan hydrolase LssL and the Gly signal produced by its hydrolysis of prey cell walls can play a localization role in bacteria-bacteria predation processes. Specifically, in bacteria-bacteria predation, the LssL-mediated two-step localization induces the production of Gly, which later activates the directional movement and killing process of L. enzymogenes toward S. aureus. This may, in turn, synergize with bacterial weapons such as T6SS-1 to optimize the predatory efficiency.
This study broadens the understanding of predator-prey interactions and microbial ecological dynamics, which are fundamental to population dynamics and community composition in ecosystems. By elucidating the multifunctional role of the peptidoglycan hydrolase LssL in predator-prey interactions, it enhances knowledge of how bacteria sense and respond to their environment. Moreover, it highlights the integration of two-step localization with potential cooperative predation, introducing a new “proactive” mechanism in bacterial predation strategies. Unraveling these mechanisms provides deeper insights into the complexity of microbial communities and their roles in regulating ecosystems, particularly in the context of predatory behaviors.
Read the full journal article titled Two-step localization driven by peptidoglycan hydrolase in interbacterial predation in The ISME Journal. This article has been selected as Editor’s Choice for the month of September 2025.
Authors
- Huihui Song, Ocean University of China
- Yuxiang Zhu, Ocean University of China
- Zhelin Qu, Shandong University
- Meixue Zhu, Ocean University of China
- Xindong Li, Ocean University of China
- Lijia Zhao, Ocean University of China
- Kunpeng Wang, Shandong University
- Ruizhen Zhang, Ocean University of China
- Lei Cui, Ocean University of China
- Yuying Li, Ocean University of China
- Zeran Bian, Ocean University of China
- Weijia Zhang, Ocean University of China
- Yiliang Chen, Ocean University of China
- Liangcheng Du, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
- Jun-Lei Wang, Shandong University
- Xian Zhao, Shandong University
- Lu Deng, Shandong University
- Yan Wang, Ocean University of China