Almost sixty years ago, Bdellovibrio and like organisms (BALOs) were discovered as the first
obligate bacterial predators of other bacteria known to science. Since then, they were shown …

Dense microbial groups such as bacterial biofilms commonly contain a diversity of cell types
that define their functioning. However, we have a limited understanding of what maintains, or …

Invertebrate animals that live at the bottom of aquatic ecosystems (ie, benthic macrofauna)
are important mediators between nutrients in the water column and microbes in the benthos …

Gastrointestinal microbiomes play important roles in the health and nutrition of animals and
humans. The medicinal leech, Hirudo verbana, serves as a powerful model for the study of …

Two Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacteria, strains E96T and E90T, were isolated from
medicinal leeches (Hirudo verbana) and characterized by a polyphasic taxonomic …

Rhinella marina is a toad native to South America that has been introduced in the Antilles,
likely carrying high loads of microorganisms, potentially impacting local community diversity …

Digestive-tract microbiota exert tremendous influence over host health. Host-symbiont model
systems are studied to investigate how symbioses are initiated and maintained, as well as to …

Medicinal leeches are one of the neglected organisms in animal reproduction studies. In this
study, the effects of feeding two different types of blood, mammalian (cattle blood) and …

Animals live in close association with microorganisms, mostly prokaryotes, living in or on
them as commensals, mutualists or parasites, and profoundly affecting host fitness. Most …

Abstract Leeches (Annelida: Hirudinea) possess powerful salivary anticoagulants and,
accordingly, are frequently employed in modern, authoritative medicine. Members of the …