Xanthomonas campestris is a gram-negative bacterium that is phytopathogenic to cruciferous plants and causes worldwide agricultural loss. However, it also produces an exopolysaccharide called xanthan that is of great industrial importance. Owing to the immense economic impact and the simplicity of the genetic constitution (lacking introns) of this organism, we envisage, in the present proposal, to identify and characterize novel protein structures and functions in Xanthomonas campestris.