One of the more notable characteristics of this genus is that members can prey upon other gram-negative bacteria and feed on the biopolymers, e.g. proteins and nucleic acids, of their hosts.

In this free swimming attack form after searching for prey using its pili, it burrows through the host outer membrane/ peptidoglycan cell wall and enters the periplasmic space.

[2] Using some of these molecules the Bdellovibrio creates a protective environment by reinforcing the peptidoglycan cell wall of the host in which it now dwells using amidases and transpeptidases.

Under a light microscope, host-dependent Bdellovibrio appears to be a comma-shaped motile rod that is about 0.3–0.5 by 0.5–1.4 μm in size with a barely discernible flagellum.

They have been found in soil samples, rhizosphere of plant roots, rivers, oceans, sewage, intestines and feces of birds and mammals, and even in oyster shells and the gills of crabs.

[5] B. bacteriovorus are able to thrive in almost any habitat, the general requirements are that there needs to be oxygen and some other gram-negative bacteria present in its environment.

Bdellovibrio is grown in the laboratory in its stationary HI (host-independent) phase at 29 °C on yeast peptone broth agar.

[3] They may also be cultured using YPSC (yeast extract, peptone, sodium acetate, calcium chloride) overlays or prey lysates.

[10] The currently accepted taxonomy is based on the List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature (LPSN)[11] and National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI)[12] B. bacteriovorus Stolp & Starr 1963 B. reynosensis Ajao et al. 2022 B. bacteriovorus B. reynosensis