Selective Interaction Using Extracellular Nanostructure in Bacteria

Abstract

A wide range of prokaryotes, as well as eukaryotic cells, release nanoparticles composed of proteins and phospholipid bilayers into the extracellular milieu. These bacterial sphere particles are called as membrane vesicle (MV). MV is biologically active and contain various components including genetic materials and proteins. Recent progress in MV studies has indicated that MV plays an important role in microbial interaction including horizontal gene transfer, predatory and cell-to-cell communication. However, it is not fully understood which bacterial cells uptake MV in microbial community. In this review, we described a recent finding that MV selectively interacts with specific family of bacterial cells. Moreover, antibiotic-associated MV enabled effective killing of target bacterial species. These results would offer a new avenue in the application of MV for biotechnical tools such as drug delivery system.