A number of studies have raised the possibility of circulating plant sterols being a risk factor in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Evidence in support of this hypothesis comes mainly from observations in sitosterolemic patients, who hyperabsorb plant sterols and suffer premature atherosclerosis. Accordingly, the atherogenicity of plant sterols of dietary origin is currently under debate, ...

Bacteria adhere to environmental surfaces in multicellular assemblies described as biofilms. Plant-associated bacteria interact with host tissue surfaces during pathogenesis and symbiosis, and in commensal relationships. Observations of bacteria associated with plants increasingly reveal biofilm-type structures that vary from small clusters of cells to extensive biofilms. The surface properties...

The emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and hospital-acquired bacterial infection has become rampant due to antibiotic overuse. Virulence factors are secondary growth important in their pathogenesis, therefore, new antimicrobial therapies inhibit virulence becoming strategies against resistance. Here, we focus on anti-virulence that act through anti-quorum sensing the subsequent clearanc...

Bacterial plant pathogens rely on a battalion of transcription factors to fine-tune their response to changing environmental conditions and to marshal the genetic resources required for successful pathogenesis. Prediction of transcription factor binding sites (TFBS) represents an important tool for elucidating regulatory networks and has been conducted in multiple genera of plant-pathogenic bac...

A limitation in our understanding of coral disease pathology and cellular pathogenesis is a lack of reagents to characterize coral cells. We evaluated the utility of plant lectins to stain tissues of a dominant coral, Montipora capitata, from Hawaii. Of 22 lectins evaluated, nine of these stained structures in the upper or basal body wall of corals. Specific structures revealed by lectins that ...

Some plant pathogens deploy dozens of effector proteins through the type III secretion apparatus into host cells. These effectors manipulate host basal defenses and metabolism to the advantage of the pathogen, a process essential for pathogenesis (reviewed in Mudgett 2005; Grant et al., 2006). Effectors can also betray the presence of the pathogen, triggering robust plant defense responses that...