Pathogen Special: Vibrio cholerae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Xylella fastidiosa

Pathogen Special: Vibrio Cholerae, Pseudomonas Aeruginosa and Xylella Fastidiosa

One could almost say that it is the latest fashion to sequence a bacterial genome. However, this would belittle the efforts of those working on these important organisms, whose data will greatly help those working on the prevention of disease in the fields of medicine and agriculture. In this feature we present a guided tour of the latest additions to the 'sequenced microbes' club. Vibrio chole...

Interaction between Xylella Fastidiosa and Curtobacterium Flaccumfaciens

Xylella fastidiosa (Xf) is a fastidious gram-negative, xylem-limited bacterium that causes diseases in many crops of economic importance, such as grape (Pierce’s disease), almond, peach, coffee, plum and citrus. Xf can infect all known Citrus sinensis cultivars and causes Citrus variegated chlorosis (CVC). One major endophyte isolated from CVC-asymptomatic plants is the bacterium Curtobacterium...

Horizontal gene transfer through natural competence and recombination in the generalist plant pathogen Xylella fastidiosa by

Homologous recombination is one of many forces contributing to the diversity, adaptation, and emergence of pathogens. For naturally competent bacteria, transformation is one possible route for the acquisition of novel genetic material. This study demonstrates that Xylella fastidiosa, a generalist bacterial plant pathogen responsible for many emerging plant diseases, is naturally competent and a...

Why is Pseudomonas aeruginosa a pathogen?

Despite the expression of a myriad of virulence factors, healthy individuals are generally able to resist infections with Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Polymorphonuclear leukocyte-dependent killing is the major mechanism responsible for resistance; dysregulation of host defense mechanisms in addition to expression of specific bacterial factors can result in life-threatening infections with this bacte...

Pseudomonas aeruginosa: the making of a pathogen.