identifier: traitmech:000697
label: epibiotic bacterial predation
definition: A predatory bacterial phenotype in which a bacterium kills and obtains
  nutrients from bacterial prey while attached and growing externally, without its
  cell body entering the prey cell.
definition_source: DOI:10.1038/ismej.2013.164
trait_category: ECOLOGY
term_kind: CLASS
mapping_status: PROPOSED
parent_traits:
- traitmech:000054
evidence:
- reference: DOI:10.1038/ismej.2013.164
  snippet: epibiotic, where they attach to the prey from outside.
  notes: 'Pasternak et al. 2014, PMID:24088628, PMC3930308, Introduction; contiguous
    quotation defining the external predation strategy. Abstract, Introduction, culture/prey-range/electron-microscopy
    Methods, growth Results, Discussion and actual Figure 1 read. JSS and Micavibrio
    aeruginosavorus EPB observations support external feeding; genome comparisons
    are not functional proof. Do not make the paper''s binary-division generalization
    defining: the 2024 JSS time-lapse study demonstrates nonbinary division. Other
    figures, genomic analyses and supplements not fully assessed. Full text: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3930308/.'
- reference: DOI:10.1099/ijs.0.039701-0
  snippet: No periplasmic growth stage was observed and no bdelloplast was formed.
  notes: 'Koval et al. 2013, PMID:22368169, directly read scientific Abstract on the
    publisher site and source-qualified MED metadata. JSS was isolated from sewage
    in London, Ontario, with Caulobacter crescentus prey; attached external predation
    left emptied cells. This supports natural strain provenance and noninvasive feeding,
    not its frequency in undisturbed sewage. Full text, figures and supplement unavailable
    to this review; no Methods claim imported. Publisher: https://doi.org/10.1099/ijs.0.039701-0.'
- reference: DOI:10.1038/s41467-024-48042-5
  snippet: Bdellovibrio exovorus is an obligate epibiotic predator that attaches on
    the prey cell surface, where it grows and proliferates.
  notes: 'Santin et al. 2024, PMID:38678033, PMC11055950, scientific Abstract; direct
    contiguous match. Abstract, Introduction, Results, Discussion, selected culture/killing/live-imaging/cryo-EM/statistics
    Methods and actual Figures 2-5 read; other Methods, actual Figures 1/6, supplements
    and movies not fully assessed. JSS time-lapse growth and prey-content loss support
    feeding, not direct molecular nutrient tracing. The 2025 correction DOI:10.1038/s41467-025-58758-7
    (PMID:40234419, PMC12000597) was read: retain its qualified prey-range wording
    and removal of the S-layer-defense recommendation. It is not another independent
    experiment. Full corrected text: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11055950/.'
canonical_examples:
- taxon_id: NCBITaxon:453816
  taxon_label: Pseudobdellovibrio exovorus
  reference: DOI:10.1038/s41467-024-48042-5
  note: 'Qualified to JSS (ATCC BAA-2330 = DSM 25223), not every species member. Studied
    as Bdellovibrio exovorus on C. crescentus; the predator''s natural sewage-isolate
    provenance and type-strain identity are stated in the primary Abstract at https://doi.org/10.1099/ijs.0.039701-0.
    Some 2024 prey strains carry engineered labels or deletions; this natural-provenance
    qualification concerns the predator. NCBI species ID/name and JSS type material
    independently resolved on 2026-10-11: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?id=453816.'
discussions:
- discussion_id: epibiotic-predation-scope-and-mappings
  prompt: Keep external feeding distinct from general surface association.
  kind: CURATION_TODO
  status: OPEN
  rationale: Predatory bacterium traitmech:000054 supplies killing and nutrition;
    external attachment and growth supply the differentia. The broader METPO:1007093
    epibiont phenotype does not require predation. Epibiosis, ectosymbiosis, ectoparasitism
    and vampirism are not asserted exact synonyms. The existing predation research
    report also calls wolf-pack Myxococcus feeding epibiotic; this record follows
    the attached-feeding sense of Pasternak et al., not every use of external killing.
    Attachment, prey lysis or sequence signatures alone are insufficient. Bacterial
    cannibalism traitmech:000626 concerns prey relatedness, an orthogonal axis. No
    organism-level disjointness is asserted. No exact xrefs or synonyms are assigned
    pending authority and scope reconciliation.
  posed_by: codex
  posed_date: '2026-10-11'
- discussion_id: epibiotic-predation-mechanism-limits
  prompt: Resolve feeding machinery without generalizing model-specific observations.
  kind: KNOWLEDGE_GAP
  status: OPEN
  rationale: Causal graphs and protein examples are deferred, not claimed absent.
    An external predator cell body does not exclude envelope-crossing feeding structures
    or secreted effectors. JSS imaging supports a feeding junction but does not identify
    its molecular machinery; fluorescence loss is not direct nutrient tracing. Comparative
    gene content is not functional causality. Do not require polar attachment, binary
    division, fixed progeny number, a universal prey range, or obligate dependence
    merely because particular models exhibit them. The corrected 2024 S-layer experiments
    concern tested prey backgrounds, not all predators or all S-layers. The 2013/2014
    studies share authors and JSS material; three citations are not three independent
    laboratory replications.
  posed_by: codex
  posed_date: '2026-10-11'
curation_history:
- timestamp: '2026-10-11T11:39:38Z'
  curator: codex
  action: MINTED_TRAITMECH_ID
  changes: Added external attached bacterial predation beneath predatory bacterium
    with three DOI-backed sources, checked snippets and a JSS-qualified example. Reserved
    v573 block 1065000-1065099 after ignored/hidden main/worktree and pending-PR checks.
    Corrected-paper scope retained; mechanisms and mappings remain open. Timestamp
    is the observed UTC decision.
  llm_assisted: true