Pathogen interactions, molecular events

While the current state of knowledge does not permit much more than speculation concerning the molecular events at plant cell membranes in host-pathogen interactions, the application of the concepts derived from the mammalian membrane receptor-effector systems provides a unifying model which allows rationalisation of the available data and may suggest useful experimental approaches. 

Sialic acids are mainly found as terminal carbohydrate units of glycoproteins and glycolipids in vertebrates or as components of capsular polysaccharides or lipooligosaccharides in pathogenic bacteria. As the outermost residues, sialic acid residues are directly involved in many biologically important molecular recognition and interaction events (6-8). 

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