| Description | Organisms which have the ability to cause damage to bacteria by their growth and metabolism where such activity comes in direct contact with the host cell. Excluded from this are organisms which cause damage at a distance by the excretion of toxin molecules. The damage caused to the host should be of direct benefit to the pathogen in the form of nutrients gained from the host. Thus, also excluded are deleterious effects whose purpose are competative in nature, i.e. the establishment of relatively favorable access to a nutrient source. |
