The cyanide defense: How one bacterium inhibits predators with poison

A bacterium produces cyanide when under attack from Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus HD100, a microbial predator found in rivers and soils that ingests its prey from the inside out, a new study has found. The researchers discovered that the prey produced levels of cyanide high enough to inhibit, but not kill, the B. bacteriovorus HD100.