In article <D.Heald-2305951642490001 at bsmac14.csd.unsw.edu.au>
D.Heald at unsw.edu.au (Daniel Heald) writes:
>>The latest newcast suggested the dormant virus might lurk in some "animal, insect or plant...". Notwithstanding the "difference" between animal and
>insect, are there any plants that act as human pathogen reservoirs?
Not familiar with any plants harboring human viruses, but there are a number of
instances where plants serve as a reservoir of inoculum for human pathogens.
For instance, cut flowers and house plants are not allowed in hospital rooms
of patients suffering from burns because the plants can carry Pseudomonas
aeurginosa, which finds a favorable habitat in burned tissues. Burholderia
cepacia, an onion pathogen that also has been associated with respiratory
and eye infections is an example of a bacterium that crosses over and infects
both plants and animals. I don't know of a specific plant association, but
Yersinia pestis (bubonic plague organism) apparently has pectinolytic enzymes.
Since pectin is a plant polymer and doesn't occur in man or animals, it seems
logical that this bacterium may have/had a plant relationship. There are also
documented cases of plants harboring human pathogenic fungi. As in the case
with the bacterial pathogens, there are also instances of fungi crossing over
and infecting both plants and animals.
R.D. Gitaitis
Plant Pathologist
