Bacterial Pathogenesis of Plants and Animals: Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms (Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology, 192)

The last decade has seen an explosion in our understanding of how bacterial pathogens trick, cajole, usurp and parasitize their various hosts. This renaissance is due to the convergence of molecular and cellular techniques with the power of microbial genetics. The purpose of this volume is to introduce recent advances in understanding selected systems chosen from both plant and animal hosts of bacterial pathogens. This somewhat nonobvious choice of topics was spurred by the recent findings, detailed by several conributors to this volume, of common systems used to secrete virulence factors from pathogens of both plants and animals. These serendipitous findings underscored the importance of basic research approaches to parallel problems in biology. More importantly, they brought together investigators who may not have otherwise become conversant with each other's experimental systems. I, for one, find the kinds of synergism reflected in a volume of this sort to be one of the most pleasant aspects of science and hope that the reader, whether a newcomer to the field or an expert, can find a new slant to old problems in the reviews contained h,E:lre. It was, however, necessary to limit volume length, and this has forced the exclusion of a number of fascinating bacterial pathosystems. Front Matter....Pages III-XI Epiphytic Fitness of Phytopathogenic Bacteria: Physiological Adaptations for Growth and Survival....Pages 1-27 Pathogenicity Determinants and Global Regulation of Pathogenicity of Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris ....Pages 29-41 Erwinia Chrysanthemi and Pseudomonas syringae : Plant Pathogens Trafficking in Extracellular Virulence Proteins....Pages 43-78 hrp Genes of Phytopathogenic Bacteria....Pages 79-96 The Enigmatic Avirulence Genes of Phytopathogenic Bacteria....Pages 99-118 The Genetic and Chemical Basis of Recognition in the Agrobacterium : Plant Interaction....Pages 119-138 Does Rhizobium Avoid the Host Response?....Pages 139-162 Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Salmonella Pathogenesis....Pages 163-185 Molecular and Genetic Determinants of the Listeria monocytogenes Infectious Process....Pages 187-216 Shigella flexneri : Genetics of Entry and intercellular Dissemination in Epithelial Cells....Pages 217-241 Yersinia Pathogenicity Factors....Pages 243-263 Surface-Associated and Soluble Components of Vibrio cholerae Involved in Bacteria-Host Interactions....Pages 265-281 Biology of the Pathogenic Neisseriae ....Pages 283-317 Pathogenicity Mechanisms of Bordetella ....Pages 319-336 Back Matter....Pages 337-346 The last decade has seen an explosion in our understanding of how bacterial pathogens trick, cajole, con and parasitize their various hosts. This renaissance is due to the convergence of molecular and cellular techniques with the power of microbial genetics. The purpose of this volume is to introduce recent advances in understanding selected systems chosen from both plant and animal hosts of bacterial pathogens. This somewhat nonobvious choice of topics was spurred by recent findings of common systems used to secrete virulence factors from intercellular pathogens of both plants and animals. The hope is that by understanding both the commonalities and idiosyncracies of various pathogenesis modes, we may come to better understand host responses and resistance mechanisms