Advances in Molecular Genetics of Plant-Microbe Interactions, Vol. 2 : Proceedings of the 6th International Symposium on Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions, Seattle, Washington, U.S.A., July 1992

Research on the interaction between plants and microbes continues to attract increasing attention, both within the field as well as in the scientific community at large. Many of the major scientific journals have recently reviewed various aspects of the field. Several papers dealing with plant-microbe interactions have been featured on the covers of scientific publications in the past several months, and the lay press have recently presented feature articles of this field. An additional sign of the interest in this field is that the International Society of Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions has almost 500 members. This book is a collection of the papers that were given at the Sixth Inlernational Symposium on the Molecular Genetics of Plant-Microbe Interactions which was held in Seattle, Washington in July, 1992. Approximately 650 scientists attended and approximately 50 lectures covering the topics of Agrobacterium-plant interactions, Rhizobium-plant interactions, bacteria-plant interactions, fungal-plant interactions and new aspects of biotechnology were presented. In addition, many sessions were devoted to the plant response to the microbe. Over 400 posters were presented of which the authors of 20 were selected to give an oral presentation. These papers are included in this volume as well. The symposium also included speakers whose research interests are not directly related to plant-microbe interactions but who are at the cutting edge of research areas that impact on the theme of the symposium. These individuals kindly agreed to summarize their talks and their papers are also included.

Research on Plant-Microbe Interactions: Making it relevant.- Cell-cell interactions during pollination in Brassica.- Overcoming pest and pathogen adaptability using insights from evolutionary biology.- The Virulence System of Agrobacterium tumefaciens.- Molecular and chemical analysis of signal perception by Agrobacterium.- A. Tumefaciens T-DNA transport: Roles for VirB, VirD2 and VirE2.- Identification of genetic factors controlling the ability of Agrobacterium to transfer DNA to maize.- Mechanism of T-DNA transfer.- Molecular interactions between Agrobacterium and plant cells.- Detection of avirulent mutants of Agrobacteriumtumefaciens in crown-gall tumors produced in vitro.- VirB4 is an inner membrane-associated protein essential for T-DNA transfer from Agrobacterium tumefaciens to plants.- The Rhizogenes tale: modification of plant growth and physiology by an enzymatic system of hydrolysis of phytohormone conjugates.- The Agrobacterium tumefaciens transcriptional activator OccR causes a bend at a target promoter that is partially relaxed by plant tumor metabolite.- Rhizobium nodulation factors: variations on a theme.- Control of nodule induction and plant cell growth by nod factors.- Rhizobial lipo-oligosaccharide signals: their biosynthesis and their role in the plant.- NodO: A nodulation protein that forms pores in membranes.- Nonflavonoid inducers of nod genes in Rhizobium meliloti: apparent NODD2 activators released naturally from alfalfa seeds add new dimensions to rhizosphere biology.- Role in nodulation and genetic regulation of exopolysaccharide synthesis in Rhizobium meliloti.- Oxygen regulation of nitrogen fixation gene expression in Rhizobiummeliloti.- Oxygen sensing and protein phosphorylation by the two-component regulatory FIXLJ system from Rhizobium meliloti.- Genetic and physiologic requirements for optimal bacteroid function in the Bradyrhizobium japonicum soybean symbiosis.- Determinants of specificty in the interaction of plants with bacterial pathogens.- A family of avirulence genes from Xanthomonasoryzae pv. Oryzae is involved in resistant interactions in rice.- Further characterization of genes encoding extracellular polysaccharide of Pseudomonas solanacearum and their regulation.- Physiological and genetic regulation of a pectate lyase structural gene, pel-I of Erwinia carotovora subsp. carotovora strain 71.- Oxidative stress response in Xanthomonas oryzae.- Involvement of Pseudomonas Solanacearumhrp genes on the secretion of a bacterial compound which induces a hypersensitive-like response on tobacco.- Pseudomonas syringae pv. phaseolicola-plant interactions: Host-pathogen signalling through cascade control of hrp gene expression.- Molecular genetic analysis of hrp and avirulence genes of Xanthomonascampestris pv. Vesicatoria.- Are harpins universal elicitors of the hypersensitive response of phytopathogenic bacteria?.- Molecular cloning and functions of avirulence and pathogenicity genes of the tomato pathogen Cladosporium fulvum.- Genome dynamics and pathotype evolution in the rice blast fungus.- Molecular basis of specificity in maize leaf spot disease.- The genetics of dimorphism in the smut fungi.- Genetical and functional organization of the a mating type locus of Ustilagomaydis.- Root nodule organogenesis and formation of the peribacteroid membrane compartment.- Early events in alfalfa nodule development.- Rhizobium nod metabolites and early nodulin gene expression.- Mechanisms of cell and tissue invasion by Rhizobium leguminosarum: The role of cell surface interactions.- Control of infection in the alfalfa-Rhizobium memiloti symbiosis.- Induction of genes encoding phenylpropanoid biosynthetic enzymes in soybean roots inoculated with B.japonicum, requires NOD gene induction and occurs independent of any known host functions.- Analysis of the Arabidopsis defense response to Pseudomonas pathogens.- Genetic approaches to an understanding of specific resistance responses of Arabidopsis thaliana against phytopathogenic Pseudomonads.- Identification of an Arabidopsis locus that governs avirulence gene-specific disease resistance.- Plant and bacterial genes involved in interactions between Xanthomonas and crucifers.- The identification and mapping of loci in Arabidopsis thaliana for recognition of the fungal pathogens: Peronospora parasitica (downy mildew) and Albugo candida (white blister).- Screening methods for Arabidopsis mutants affected in the signal transduction pathways leading to defense responses.- Towards positional cloning of the Pto bacterial resistance locus from tomato.- Studies on the mechanism by which tomato Cf (Cladosporium fulvum) resistance genes activate plant defence.- Molecular biology and biochemistry of Hml, a maize gene for fungal resistance.- Transposon tagging of a rust resistance gene in maize.- Glucan elicitor-binding proteins and signal transduction in the activation of plant defence.- Elicitor recognition and intracellular signal transduction in plant defense.- Transcriptional regulation of phytoalexin biosynthetic genes.- Mutagenesis of a race-specific rust resistance gene in Antirrhinum majus using a transposon-tagging protocol.- Molecular markers and genome analysis in the manipulation of lettuce downy mildew.- Systematic acquired resistance in tobacco: Use of transgenic expression to study the functions of pathogenesis-related proteins.- Genetic and biochemical determinants of phenazine antibiotic production in fluorescent pseudomonads that suppress take-all disease of wheat.- A biological sensor for iron that is available to Pseudomonas fluorescens inhabiting the plant rhizosphere.- Characteristics and applications of antibodies produced in plants.- Application of microinjection technique for the analysis of gene expression during host-parasite interaction.- Resistance to Rhizoctonia solani in transgenic tobacco.- Antibacterial resistance of transgenic potato plants producing T4 lysozyme.- Pathogen-derived strategy to produce transgenic plants resistant to the bacterial toxin phaseolotoxin.- A universally conserved vital protein revealed by victorin binding.- Nitrogen fixation of Azorhizobium in artificially induced root para-nodules in wheat.- Name Index.