In 1949, Walter Hagemeyer Burkholder, a pioneer in bacterial taxonomy, described the bacteria, Pseudomonas cepacia, now known as Burkholderia cepacia (BCC), as the cause of cause of rot on onion bulbs. BCC is an opportunistic human pathogen that is composed of more than 18 different species, and can cause pneumonia in immunocompromised individuals. BCC can live on a diverse range of hydrocarbon substrate contaminating oil and other fuels, but also protects seedling plants (e.g. peas, maize, rice and wheat), from attack by fungal and nematode pathogens.