Editorial on plants as alternative hosts for human and animal pathogens.

Nicola J Holden,Adam Schikora,Robert W Jackson

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2015.00397

Nicola J Holden, Adam Schikora + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2015.00397

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Abstract

Editorial on plants as alternative hosts for human and animal pathogens.

Highlights

Fresh produce, in the form of raw or minimally processed fruits and vegetables, is recognized to be an important source of food-borne disease
Sporadic cases or outbreaks can arise from bacterial, viral, or parasitic contamination. While the latter both require animal hosts for proliferation and cannot grow on or within crop plants, bacteria can do so and are able to use plants as secondary hosts. This type of interaction means that human pathogenic bacteria need to undergo adaptation to the plant host, which presents an environment quite distinct to animals or humans
Perception of human pathogens is based on recognition of PAMPs similar to those in phytopathogens and other plant-associated bacteria; perhaps unsurprising given that the mechanisms of recognition tend to be based on evolutionary conserved proteins

Summary

Introduction

In the form of raw or minimally processed fruits and vegetables, is recognized to be an important source of food-borne disease. 1 Human and Animal Pathogen - Plant Interactions, The James Hutton Institute, Dundee, UK, 2 School of Biological Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, UK, 3 Institute of Phytopathology and Applied Zoology, Justus Liebig University of Giessen, Giessen, Germany A (2015) Editorial on plants as alternative hosts for human and animal pathogens.

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