Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris (cause of black rot of crucifers) in the genomic era is still a worldwide threat to brassica crops

Background Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris (Xcc) (Pammel) Dowson is a Gram-negative bacterium that causes black rot, the most important disease of vegetable brassica crops worldwide. Intensive molecular investigation of Xcc is gaining momentum and several whole genome sequences are available. Taxonomy Bacteria; Phylum Proteobacteria; Class Gammaproteobacteria; Order Xanthomonadales; Family Xanthomonadacea; Genus Xanthomonas; Species X. campestris. Host range and symptoms Xcc can cause disease in a large number of species of Brassicaceae (ex-Cruciferae), including economically important vegetable Brassica crops and a number of other cruciferous crops, ornamentals and weeds, including the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Black rot is a systemic vascular disease. Typical disease symptoms include V-shaped yellow lesions starting from the leaf margins and blackening of the veins. Race structure, pathogenesis and epidemiology Collections of Xcc isolates have been differentiated into physiological races based on the response of several brassica species lines. Black rot is a seed-borne disease. The disease is favoured by warm, humid conditions and can spread rapidly from rain dispersal and irrigation water. Disease control The control of black rot is difficult and relies on the use of pathogen-free planting material and the elimination of other potential inoculum sources (infected crop debris and cruciferous weeds). Major gene resistance is very rare in B. oleracea (brassica C genome). Resistance is more readily available in other species, including potentially useful sources of broad-spectrum resistance in B. rapa and B. carinata (A and BC genomes, respectively) and in the wild relative A. thaliana. Genome The reference genomes of three isolates have been released. The genome consists of a single chromosome of approximately 5 100 000 bp, with a GC content of approximately 65% and an average predicted number of coding DNA sequences (CDS) of 4308. Important genes identified Three different secretion systems have been identified and studied in Xcc. The gene clusters xps and xcs encode a type II secretion system and xps genes have been linked to pathogenicity. The role of the type IV secretion system in pathogenicity is still uncertain. The hrp gene cluster encodes a type III secretion system that is associated with pathogenicity. An inventory of candidate effector genes has been assembled based on homology with known effectors. A range of other genes have been associated with virulence and pathogenicity, including the rpf, gum and wxc genes involved in the regulation of the synthesis of extracellular degrading enzymes, xanthan gum and lipopolysaccharides

Commentary: Filling the Empathy Gap

Some health professionals save lives; however, all health professionals have the power to save humanity. By saving humanity, I mean restoring mankind’s humaneness, which is the capacity to act with benevolence and compassion towards each other. The daily news, which is rarely new anymore, is all about war, terrorism, migrant crises, human trafficking, child abuse, mass shootings, and stories that reflect mankind’s inability to get along with each other and the planet. The remedy for our ailing humanity is right under our noses

Commentary: There Are Medical Dilemmas and Then There Are Firearms

When faced with a medical dilemma, the right decision depends on how the relevant ethical principles are prioritized. Prioritization of ethical principles in a medical dilemma often depends on contextual features, such as the patient’s age, economic impact, and public safety. Firearms should be as much a part of medical research and patient education as alcohol and tobacco, seat belts and car seats, safe sex and condoms. The problem with firearm research and patient education is twofold: a). government funded research on gun violence is currently prohibited by Congress1 and b). states and wellness programs actually prohibit doctors and other health professionals from asking about guns or entering information about gun ownership into a patient’s chart.2 Medical research and patient education on gun safety is vital to the practice of emergency and preventative medicine. Research will produce data and information that can be shared with health professionals at conferences and workshops. This information can be translated into medical consultation and education, patient brochures and handouts that health professionals can share discretely along with advice on safe sex, seat belts, car seats, baby staircase gates and banister guards, and the safe storage of cleaning solutions

Make Room for Miracles

Evidence-based medicine (EBM) limits the medical decision-making process to facts and figures that are supported by scientific research. It is scientific research, and not anecdotal accounts, personal experiences, or changes in the clinician’s mindset that guide EBM. EBM is challenged by clinicians and their staff, patients and their families who express values and preferences that depart from the “cookbook” approach to medical decision making. Part of the challenge comes from EBM’s inability to accommodate the miraculous

Commentary: See Me, Feel Me, Touch Me, Heal Me

The title of my commentary is from the rock opera Tommy. Tommy doesn’t ask for a high-tech medical cure for his disease. He isn’t interested in prescription drugs. He craves the simple human touch - a low-tech form of caring that has no negative side-effects. The healing power of the human touch is validated by scientific research. So, other than the fact that it doesn’t have an ICD-10 medical billing code, why don’t doctors and other caregivers like to touch their patients

Commentary: Care Is a Noun and a Verb

Care is a living word that binds us to our patients and to each other. The desire to care for others is the motivation for everything we do. Whether healthcare system or health care provider or health-care reform, the singular mission is patient care. The motto for healthcare is Cum scientia caritas (Latin for scientific knowledge applied with care). The only challenge to this most rudimentary tenet for caring depends on how we define care

Commentary: The Worst 4-Letter Word in Healthcare

“Wait” is a four-letter word to patients who are rarely patient when it comes to waiting. What can caregivers do to help patients cope with waiting while their entire lives are put on hold

Teaching Healthcare Ethics Students How to Cope With Gun Violence

Buchbinder (2017) provides assignments for Financial Management, Epidemiology, Health Policy, Leadership, and Human Resources classes to help students process the physical and emotional effects of gun violence in America. The following additional assignments are provided for bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral level Medical Ethics classes

Medical Ethics Is More Like Chess Than Checkers

Some naysayers say, “Ethics can’t be taught and good character can’t be learned.” This belief is based on the notion that there is a small window of opportunity, sometime between birth and the teenage years, when a person either develops moral character or doesn’t. Parenting gets most of the credit…or all of the blame. If this perspective is true, then what’s the point of trying to teach ethics to medical, nursing and allied health students