Evelyn Strauss

Phytoplasma Research Begins to Bloom

Bacteria belonging to an obscure group called phytoplasmas shrivel grapes in Europe and Australia; stunt corn growth in South America; destroy pears and apples in the United States and Europe; ruin peanuts, sesame, and soybean in Asia; and sicken elms, coconuts, asters, and hydrangeas on multiple continents. And as the world warms up, these attacks on food crops, lumber and shade trees, and ornamental flowers will likely grow, in part because the insects that transmit the bacteria are expected to expand their ranges north and south. For all the destruction that phytoplasmas inflict, one might expect that dozens of agricultural companies and academic labs have generated abundant amounts of information about them. But study of these plant pathogens got off to a slow start. For almost half a century, plant pathologists thought phytoplasmas were viruses. To this day, the inability to grow these bacteria outside plants or insects hinders efforts to get a handle on their biology and genomes. However, in 2004, scientists published the first full phytoplasma genomic sequence and, since then, they9ve completed three additional ones. With that information, researchers have begun to elucidate how phytoplasma proteins manipulate plant physiology and insect behavior, findings that might inspire novel measures to stem the devastating agricultural infections around the world.

Intracellular pathogens: A virus joins the movement

Vaccinia virus has recently been shown to induce inside its host cells the formation of actin tails very similar to those which facilitate the cell-to-cell spread of several pathogenic bacteria.

Bacterial Pathogenesis: When a turn off is a turn on

Pathogenic bacteria express distinct sets of genes at different stages in their life cycles; inappropriate expression of normally repressed genes during host colonization can interfere with bacterial survival.

TB Bacteria May Reign Over Cells Intended to Bridle Them

MICROBIOLOGYResearchers report this week that rather than protecting the host as conventional wisdom holds, the hallmark tuberculosis lesions called granulomas in fact promote bacterial multiplication early in infection.

SAGE KE and Other Online Sources Related to Aging

Researchers are making rapid headway in uncovering details about aging and its associated maladies. Yet the field faces a number of challenges. In particular, investigators from a wide range of disciplines who do not necessarily interact are generating daunting quantities of new data. A number of online resources can help researchers organize and manage the barrage of new results and can spark discussions. These Web sites publish summaries of the latest findings, offer tools with which to manipulate data, supply opportunities for direct communication with colleagues, and explore societal implications of the work. They are building bridges between different realms of the field and fostering creative thinking.

State Ready to Create Three Research Institutes

CALIFORNIALured by

Microbes Display Their Versatility at ASM Meeting

300 million in state money, California university officials are scrambling to compete for three planned interdisciplinary research institutes that would be set up under a bill speeding through the state legislature. The legislation--introduced this winter as a way to enhance the states already strong science and technology base--has won bipartisan support and could be approved as early as next week.

California Sets Up Three New Institutes

AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR MICROBIOLOGYLOS ANGELES-- About 12,000 scientists gathered here from 21 to 25 May for the 100th annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology. This years lineup boasted presentations on a wide array of topics--everything from the bodys defenses against microbial pathogens to bacterial involvement in geological processes.

Bacteria Pull Cell Skeletons Out of the Closet

ACADEMIC RESEARCHThree University of California campuses were chosen last week as sites for a new

Getting a Handle on the Molecules That Guide Axons

900 million program designed to keep the state a world leader in research and to bolster its economy. Each of the three schools will receive