text: Plants secrete a variety of chemicals to help seal off damaged areas. For example, the grape vine  Vitis vinifera is able to block the xylem water-transport tubes in its stems using the chemical tylose in summertime, and gels in wintertime when the plant is dormant. Tylose helps to prevent pathogens such as wood-rotting fungi and the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa from spreading through the plant: the chemical is produced as a response both to the bacterium and to mechanical damage such as viticultural pruning.