Microbivory (adj. microbivorous, microbivore) is a feeding behavior consisting of eating
microbes (especially
bacteria
Bacteria (; : bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one Cell (biology), biological cell. They constitute a large domain (biology), domain of Prokaryote, prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micr ...
) practiced by animals of the
mesofauna,
microfauna and
meiofauna.
Microbivorous animals include some soil
nematode
The nematodes ( or ; ; ), roundworms or eelworms constitute the phylum Nematoda. Species in the phylum inhabit a broad range of environments. Most species are free-living, feeding on microorganisms, but many are parasitic. Parasitic worms (h ...
s,
springtail
Springtails (class Collembola) form the largest of the three lineages of modern Hexapoda, hexapods that are no longer considered insects. Although the three lineages are sometimes grouped together in a class called Entognatha because they have in ...
s or
flies
Flies are insects of the Order (biology), order Diptera, the name being derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwin ...
such as ''
Drosophila sharpi''. A well known example of microbivorous nematodes is the model roundworm ''
Caenorhabditis elegans'' which is maintained in culture in labs on agar plates, fed with the 'OP50' ''
Escherichia coli
''Escherichia coli'' ( )Wells, J. C. (2000) Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Harlow ngland Pearson Education Ltd. is a gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped, coliform bacterium of the genus '' Escherichia'' that is commonly fo ...
'' strain of bacteria.
In food webs of
ecosystem
An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...
s, microbivores can be distinguished from
detritivores, generally thought playing the roles of decomposers, as they don't consume decaying dead matter but only living microorganisms.
Use of term in robotics
There is also use of the term 'microbivore' to qualify the concept of
robot
A robot is a machine—especially one Computer program, programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions Automation, automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the robot control, co ...
s autonomously finding their energy in the production of bacteria.
Robert Freitas has also proposed microbivore robots that would attack pathogens in the manner of white blood cells.
[Robert A. Freitas Jr., ''Microbivores: Artificial Mechanical Phagocytes using Digest and Discharge Protocol'', self-published, 200]
/ref>
See also
* Bacterivore
References
External links
Biological interactions
Animals by eating behaviors
Ethology
Eating behaviors
Microorganisms
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