Agrobacterium tumefaciens

Agrobacterium tumefaciens is a soil-dwelling bacterium that transfers DNA from its tumor-inducing plasmid into plant cells, causing crown gall disease and providing a tool for plant genetic engineering.

Ti plasmid: A large plasmid in Agrobacterium that carries genes for plant-cell DNA transfer and tumor formation. Its transferred segment contains the genes that induce crown galls.
Plant transformation: The introduction of foreign genetic material into plant cells or genomes. Agrobacterium is a widely used biological route for transforming plants.
Crown gall disease: A plant disease marked by tumor-like growths, often near the crown, caused by Agrobacterium infection. It is the characteristic disease produced by natural T-DNA transfer.
Gene gun: A device that propels DNA-coated microscopic particles into cells or tissues. It introduces DNA physically rather than through bacterial infection.
T-DNA: A DNA segment delimited by border sequences and transferred from an Agrobacterium plasmid into a plant cell. This is the plasmid region delivered into plant cells.
Binary vector system: A plant transformation strategy that separates T-DNA border sequences from the virulence genes needed for transfer. It makes Agrobacterium-mediated engineering easier to design and manipulate.
Plant tumor: An abnormal mass of plant tissue resulting from uncontrolled cell proliferation. Crown galls revealed that infection can permanently alter plant-cell growth.
Protoplast transformation: The introduction of DNA into plant cells whose cell walls have been removed. It bypasses Agrobacterium and requires isolated wall-free cells.
Type IV secretion system: A protein apparatus that transports DNA or proteins across bacterial membranes and into other cells. Agrobacterium uses this apparatus to deliver T-DNA-associated proteins.
Floral dip: A method for transforming Arabidopsis by immersing flowering plants in an Agrobacterium suspension. It uses the bacterium to transform developing reproductive tissues.

Linked from 3 pages