identifier: traitmech:000699
label: periplasmic bacterial predation
definition: A predatory bacterial phenotype in which a bacterium enters the periplasm
  of a bacterial prey cell and grows and reproduces there using nutrients obtained
  by killing and consuming the prey.
definition_source: DOI:10.1038/s42003-025-09010-x
trait_category: ECOLOGY
term_kind: CLASS
mapping_status: PROPOSED
parent_traits:
- traitmech:000054
evidence:
- reference: DOI:10.1038/s42003-025-09010-x
  snippet: establishes itself in the prey periplasm, feeding on the prey’s cytoplasmic
    contents as a main nutrient source.
  notes: 'Lai et al. 2025, PMID:41125861, PMC12546842, Introduction, second paragraph;
    the subject is B. bacteriovorus. Direct publisher HTML and Europe PMC full-text
    XML match. Scientific Abstract, Introduction, selected growth/exit Results and
    culture, sampling, time-lapse and statistics Methods, Discussion and actual Figures
    1 and 4 read. Figure 1a is a lifecycle schematic, not direct imaging; Figure 4a
    includes WT exit measurements. Other figures and supplements not fully assessed.
    Publisher and MED showed no linked notice; MED linked the earlier preprint, not
    a correction. Published source: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-09010-x.'
- reference: DOI:10.1128/JB.00914-10
  snippet: Nutrients for the replication of Bdellovibrio bacteria come entirely from
    the digestion of the single invaded bacterium
  notes: 'Fenton et al. 2010, PMID:20935099, scientific Abstract retrieved from source-qualified
    MED metadata. Supports prey-derived nutrition during intrabacterial replication;
    do not generalize its single-prey wording to a fixed predator occupancy or universal
    prey dependence. Full-text delivery failed; Methods, actual figures and supplement
    remain unread. MED links a commentary, not a correction/retraction; publisher
    notice check was inaccessible. Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20935099/.'
- reference: DOI:10.1128/jb.96.4.1366-1381.1968
  snippet: Although partial disruption of the cytoplasmic membrane was always apparent,
    the parasite did not appear to actively penetrate through this barrier.
  notes: 'Burnham et al. 1968, PMID:4879563, scientific Abstract directly read at
    PubMed and matched source-qualified MED metadata. Electron microscopy supports
    entry without observed active penetration of the prey cytoplasmic membrane, not
    an intact membrane throughout predation or direct nutrient tracing. Full text
    and actual figures were unavailable; no strain-level example inferred. MED/PubMed
    exposed no linked notice, but publisher notice status was not verified. Source:
    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/4879563/.'
canonical_examples:
- taxon_id: NCBITaxon:264462
  taxon_label: Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus HD100
  reference: DOI:10.1038/s42003-025-09010-x
  note: 'Qualified to wild-type HD100, not deletion, complemented or host-independent
    derivatives. Lai et al. used E. coli laboratory prey; this is not direct field
    observation. DSM 50701 is HD100 and is recorded as a soil isolate at https://webshop.dsmz.de/en/bacteria/Bdellovibrio-bacteriovorus.html;
    this establishes natural provenance, not another predation assay. NCBI strain
    identifier, scientific name and DSM 50701 synonym independently checked on 2026-10-11:
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?id=264462.'
discussions:
- discussion_id: periplasmic-predation-boundaries-and-mappings
  prompt: Distinguish periplasmic feeding from invasion alone.
  kind: CURATION_TODO
  status: OPEN
  rationale: Predatory bacterium traitmech:000054 is broader; its intraperiplasmic_growth
    node denotes a lifecycle stage, not this whole feeding phenotype, and must not
    be equated to it. Epibiotic bacterial predation traitmech:000697 keeps the predator
    cell body external. Generic intracellular predation, endoparasitism and endosymbiosis
    are not exact synonyms of periplasmic predation. Attachment, killing without entry,
    or residence without nutritional growth are insufficient. Exact synonyms and xrefs
    remain unassigned pending authority and scope reconciliation. No organism-level
    disjointness, universal prey range, division pattern, progeny number or obligate
    dependence is asserted.
  posed_by: codex
  posed_date: '2026-10-11'
- discussion_id: periplasmic-predation-mechanism-grounding
  prompt: Ground model-specific machinery before adding causal edges.
  kind: KNOWLEDGE_GAP
  status: OPEN
  rationale: A protein-resolved graph and protein examples are deferred, not claimed
    absent. The 2025 proteome and perturbation experiments provide leads, but protein
    abundance, gene presence and predicted sequence function do not establish the
    complete feeding mechanism. Heterologous prey lysis does not establish predator
    invasion or nutrient uptake. Verify exact accessions, taxon pairing and relevant
    supplements before curating machinery; do not transfer the HD100 mechanism to
    every periplasmic predator.
  posed_by: codex
  posed_date: '2026-10-11'
curation_history:
- timestamp: '2026-10-11T14:16:57Z'
  curator: codex
  action: MINTED_TRAITMECH_ID
  changes: Added periplasmic bacterial predation beneath predatory bacterium with
    three DOI-backed sources, checked snippets and a WT-qualified HD100 example. Ignored/hidden
    main/worktree and pending-PR checks support 000699 and v575 block 1065200-1065299.
    Existing records unchanged; exact mappings and mechanism grounding remain open.
    Timestamp records the observed UTC curation decision.
  llm_assisted: true