the metabolic syndrome (ms) recognized as a major cause of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, has become one of the major public health challenges worldwide. the pathogenesis of the metabolic syndrome is multiple and still poorly understood. no single factor has yet been identified as an underlying causal factor. there is a growing belief, however, that obesity, specially visceral obe...

We report here the annotated genome sequence of Xanthomonas arboricola strain 3004, isolated from barley leaves with symptoms of streak and capable of infecting other plant species. We sequenced the genome of X. arboricola strain 3004 to improve the understanding of molecular mechanisms of the pathogenesis and evolution of the genus Xanthomonas.

The host-fungus interaction is characterized by changes in gene expression in both host and pathogen. Differential-display reverse transcription PCR (DDRT-PCR) is a PCR-based method that allows extensive analysis of gene expression among several cell populations. Several limitations and drawbacks to this procedure have now been addressed, including the large number of false-positive results and...

We report for the first time the production of acyl homoserine lactones (AHLs) by Erwina amylovora, an important quarantine bacterial pathogen that causes fire blight in plants. E. amylovora produces one N-acyl homoserine lactone [a N-(3-oxo-hexanoyl)-homoserine lactone or a N-(3-hydroxy-hexanoyl)-homoserine lactone] quorum sensing signal molecule both in vitro and in planta (pear plant). Given...

The genome sequence of a second plant pathogenic fungus is now available, revealing unique gene clusters encoding secretory proteins that are induced during infection and regulate pathogenesis. Gene clusters play important roles in pathogenic fungi, yet their evolution and maintenance remain a mystery.

Compared to those of dicot-infecting bacteria, the available genome sequences of bacteria that infect wheat and barley are limited. Herein, we report the draft genome sequences of four pseudomonads originally isolated from these cereals. These genome sequences provide a useful resource for comparative analyses within the genus and for cross-kingdom analyses of plant pathogenesis.

Diseases caused by geminiviruses have long been recognized as a limitation to the cultivation of several important crops, including maize, cassava, bean, squash, cucurbits, and tomato, in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. More recently, geminivirus diseases, particularly those transmitted by whiteflies, have become an even greater threat to agriculture due to the appearance of a ne...

New findings challenge the traditional view of the plant cell wall as passive structural barrier to invasion by fungal microorganisms. A surveillance system for cell wall integrity appears to sense perturbation of the cell wall structure upon fungal attack and is interconnected with known plant defence signalling pathways. Biotrophic fungi might manipulate this surveillance system for the estab...

Plant cells practice constant vigilance using resistance (R) proteins to monitor pathogenic processes. Three papers published recently in Cell and one in Science provide support for a model in which plant cells set up surveillance of signal transduction pathways, preparing to destroy the cell if any untoward fiddling with cellular physiology is detected. The demonstration of three separate exam...

The 5.67-megabase genome of the plant pathogen Agrobacterium tumefaciens C58 consists of a circular chromosome, a linear chromosome, and two plasmids. Extensive orthology and nucleotide colinearity between the genomes of A. tumefaciens and the plant symbiont Sinorhizobium meliloti suggest a recent evolutionary divergence. Their similarities include metabolic, transport, and regulatory systems t...