ABSTRACT
Of the approximately 1600 known bacterial species, there are only about 100 that cause disease on plants. There are many more that can live on the leaf surface of plants or in the rhizosphere as saprophytes, and some of these may become internalised into plants, although there is no evidence that they replicate, and they cause no apparent damage to plants so are not considered as plant pathogens. However, like the mycotoxin-producing fungi, some of these are potentially harmful to consumers, and evidence has been accumulating of foodpoisoning and death to humans through the consumption of food in which bacteria such as E. coli strain 0157 have become internalised.
