Microbivory (adj. microbivorous, microbivore[1]) is a feeding behavior consisting of eatingmicrobes (especiallybacteria) practiced by animals of themesofauna,microfauna andmeiofauna.[2][3][4]
Microbivorous animals include some soilnematodes,[5][6][7]springtails orflies such asDrosophila sharpi. A well known example of microbivorous nematodes is the model roundwormCaenorhabditis elegans which is maintained in culture in labs on agar plates, fed with the 'OP50'Escherichia coli strain of bacteria.
In food webs ofecosystems, microbivores can be distinguished fromdetritivores, generally thought playing the roles of decomposers, as they don't consume decaying dead matter but only living microorganisms.
There is also use of the term 'microbivore' to qualify the concept ofrobots 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.[8]