Predation

Predation or preying is an essential part of how life evolves and how ecosystems function. Scientists have intensely studied how predators and prey interact with each other. Prey animals have developed things like hooves, spines, and sharp teeth to escape predators. But predation also affects tiny organisms, like microbes.
Agrawal 2001 Science 294: 321-326
Meyer & Kassen 2007 Nature 446: 432-435
Saleem et al. 2012 Nat Commun 3: 1305
Mukherjee & Heithaus 2013 Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 88: 550-563
Klauschies et al. 2016 Ecol Evol 6: 4141-4159

In their study, Ledvina and colleagues uncover that curli fibers serve as a genetically encoded defense mechanism against Bdellovibrio predati…