Endophytic bacteria in toxic South African plants: identification, phylogeny and possible involvement in gousiekte.

ABSTRACT:

Background

South African plant species of the genera Fadogia, Pavetta and Vangueria (all belonging to Rubiaceae) are known to cause gousiekte (literally 'quick disease'), a fatal cardiotoxicosis of ruminants characterised by acute heart failure four to eight weeks after ingestion. Noteworthy is that all these plants harbour endophytes in their leaves: nodulating bacteria in specialized nodules in Pavetta and non-nodulating bacteria in the intercellular spaces between mesophyll cells in Fadogia and Vangueria.

Principal findings

Isolation and analyses of these endophytes reveal the presence of Burkholderia bacteria in all the plant species implicated in gousiekte. Although the nodulating and non-nodulating bacteria belong to the same genus, they are phylogenetically not closel

SUBMITTER: Verstraete B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3082559 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature