Content area
Full text
About the Authors:
Maria T. Brandl
* E-mail: [email protected]
Affiliation: Produce Safety and Microbiology Research Unit, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Albany, California, United States of America
Michelle Q. Carter
Affiliation: Produce Safety and Microbiology Research Unit, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Albany, California, United States of America
Craig T. Parker
Affiliation: Produce Safety and Microbiology Research Unit, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Albany, California, United States of America
Matthew R. Chapman
Affiliation: Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America
Steven Huynh
Affiliation: Produce Safety and Microbiology Research Unit, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Albany, California, United States of America
Yaguang Zhou
Affiliation: Produce Safety and Microbiology Research Unit, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Albany, California, United States of America
Introduction
Enteropathogenic bacteria persist in the environment where they may interact closely with other members of microbial communities. The contribution of fungi to the ecological success of foodborne pathogens remains unexplored. However, interactions between fungi and human pathogens have been described previously. For example, Pseudomonas aeruginosa has been shown to colonize filamentous cells of Candida albicans, which leads to biofilm formation followed by filament death [1]. Type IV pili and other virulence factors in P. aeruginosa are implicated in this antagonistic effect [1]. Additionally, several bacterial species can inhibit or kill phytopathogenic fungi, thereby making them potentially useful agents for the control of plant disease [2]. Bacterial antagonism toward fungi is frequently mediated by bacterial production of secondary metabolites, although more advanced types of interactions involving the type III secretion system [2] or the production of lytic enzymes that degrade the fungal cell wall [3], [4] have been reported. Other bacterial species are beneficial to their fungal host, such as mycorrhiza-helper bacteria, which promote the symbiotic activity between the mycorrhizal fungus and the plant [5], [6], and Klebsiella aerogenes, which provides substrates for melanization in Cryptococcus neoformans [7]. In addition, endophytic bacteria have been observed in endo- and ectomycorrhizae [8], [9]. Hence, a great diversity of interactions between bacteria and fungi exists in the environment. Besides potentially providing bacterial colonists with substrates or favorable conditions, filamentous fungi may also facilitate their movement to microsites that...