Bacterium hijacks fruit ripening program in citrus plants to steal sugars, research reveals

The bacterial pathogen Xanthomonas citri, which causes canker disease in citrus trees, activates selected parts of the fruit ripening program inside infected leaves. Normally, this program makes citrus fruits soften and sweeten as sugars are released. But the bacterium hijacks this fruit-specific machinery in infected leaf tissue, causing the host to unlock sugars that otherwise would not be accessible to Xanthomonas as a source of nutrients. As a result, the pathogen can grow up to a hundred times faster.