Saturday, 16 June 2012

Bacterium signals plant to open up and let friends in

Bacterium signals plant to open up and let friends in: Durham NC (SPX) Jun 15, 2012



Researchers have identified the set of tools an infectious microbe uses to persuade a plant to open the windows and let the bug and all of its friends inside. The microbe is Pseudomonas syringae, a successful bacterial pathogen that produces characteristic brown spots in more than 50 different species of plant. The signal it uses is a molecule called coronatine, which to the plant looks just lik