Octopine and nopaline metabolism in Agrobacterium tumefaciens and crown gall tumor cells: role of plasmid genes

Aztreonam is a novel chemical inducer that promotes Agrobacteium transformation and lateral root development in soybean

Agrobacterium-mediated soybean transformation is the simplest method of gene transfer. However, the low transformation due to the intractable nature of soybean genotypes hinders this process. The use of biochemicals (acetosyringone, cinnamic acid, flavonoids, etc.) plays an important role in increasing soybean transformation. These biochemicals induce chemotaxis and virulence gene activation during the infection process. Here we identified a biochemical, aztreonam (a monobactam), for high agrobacterium-mediated transformation in soybean. The soybean explants from three genotypes were inoculated with A. tumefaciens (GV3101) harboring the pMDC32 vector containing hpt or the GmUbi-35S-GUS vector containing the GUS gene during two separate events. High transient GUS expression was obtained during cotyledon explant culture on MS media supplemented with 2.5 mg/L aztreonam. The aztreonam-treated explants showed high efficiency in transient and stable transformation as compared to the untreated control. The transformation of aztreonam-treated explants during seed imbibition resulted in an average of 21.1% as compared to 13.2% in control by using the pMDC32 vector and 28.5 and 20.7% while using the GUS gene cassette, respectively. Based on these findings, the metabolic analysis of the explant after aztreonam treatment was assessed. The high accumulation of flavonoids was identified during an untargeted metabolic analysis. The quantification results showed a significantly high accumulation of the four compounds, i.e., genistein, apigenin, naringenin, and genistin, in cotyledon explants after 18 hours of aztreonam treatment. Alongside this, aztreonam also had some surprising effects on root elongation and lateral root formation when compared to indole-3-butyric acid (IBA). Our findings were limited to soybeans. However, the discovery of aztreonam and its effect on triggering flavonoids could lead to the potential role of aztreonam in the agrobacterium-mediated transformation of different crops.

Agrobacterium fabrum gene atu1420 regulates the pathogenicity by affecting the degradation of growth- and virulence-associated phenols

Agrobacterium fabrum is a phytopathogen that causes the crown gall disease. Some plant-derived molecules, e.g. phenols, directly affect A. fabrum-plant interactions. Here, we characterize a phenolic catabolism-related gene, atu1420, that affects the pathogenicity of A. fabrum. Atu1420 is predicted to be an O-demethylase with high structural homology to Sphingomonas paucimobilis LigM. The HPLC-UV analysis showed that atu1420 affected the degradation of acetosyringone (AS). The deletion of atu1420 gene significantly enhanced the AS-induced virulence (vir) gene expression. atu1420 was shown to relieve the inhibitory effect of vanillic acid on the AS-induced vir gene expression and the growth of A. fabrum. The expression of atu1420 and the degradation of AS in A. fabrum C58 was up-regulated by the addition of indole acetic acid (IAA). The inhibitory effect of IAA on the AS-induced vir gene expression was partially relieved by the deletion of atu1420 gene, indicating that accelerating the degradation of AS is one of the ways that IAA inhibits vir genes induction. Furthermore, atu1420 mutant produced more pronounced tumors on kalanchoe leaves than the wild-type strain. These findings reveal the role of atu1420 in A. fabrum-host interactions and will broaden our understanding of the regulatory network of the interactions.

A New Approach for Controlling Agrobacterium tumefaciens Post Transformation Using Lytic Bacteriophage

Overgrowth of Agrobacterium tumefaciens has frequently been found in Agrobacterium-mediated plant transformation. This overgrowth can reduce transformation efficiency and even lead to explant death. Therefore, this research investigates an alternative way to mitigate or eliminate Agrobacterium after transformation using a bacteriophage. To develop this alternative method, we conducted effectiveness studies of two lytic bacteriophages (ΦK2 and ΦK4) and performed an application test to control Agrobacterium growth after transformation. According to plaque morphological characterization and molecular analysis, the two bacteriophages used in this experiment were distinct. Moreover, some stability physicochemical and growth kinetics, such as adsorption time and susceptibility test, also showed that both bacteriophages differed. On the other hand, the optimum temperature and pH of both phages were the same at 28-30 °C and pH 7. Further investigation showed that both ΦK2 and ΦK4 were able to reduce the overgrowth of A. tumefaciens post transformation. Moreover, applying the cocktail (mixture of ΦK2 and ΦK4) with antibiotic application eradicated A. tumefaciens (0% overgrowth percentage). This result indicates that the application of bacteriophage could be used as an alternative way to eradicate the overgrowth of A. tumefaciens subsequent to transformation.

Recent Progress on Vaccines Produced in Transgenic Plants

The development of vaccines from plants has been going on for over two decades now. Vaccine production in plants requires time and a lot of effort. Despite global efforts in plant-made vaccine development, there are still challenges that hinder the realization of the final objective of manufacturing approved and safe products. Despite delays in the commercialization of plant-made vaccines, there are some human vaccines that are in clinical trials. The novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) and its resultant disease, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), have reminded the global scientific community of the importance of vaccines. Plant-made vaccines could not be more important in tackling such unexpected pandemics as COVID-19. In this review, we explore current progress in the development of vaccines manufactured in transgenic plants for different human diseases over the past 5 years. However, we first explore the different host species and plant expression systems during recombinant protein production, including their shortcomings and benefits. Lastly, we address the optimization of existing plant-dependent vaccine production protocols that are aimed at improving the recovery and purification of these recombinant proteins.

An overview on current molecular tools for heterologous gene expression in Trichoderma

Fungi of the genus Trichoderma are routinely used as biocontrol agents and for the production of industrial enzymes. Trichoderma spp. are interesting hosts for heterologous gene expression because their saprotrophic and mycoparasitic lifestyles enable them to thrive on a large number of nutrient sources and some members of this genus are generally recognized as safe (GRAS status). In this review, we summarize and discuss several aspects involved in heterologous gene expression in Trichoderma, including transformation methods, genome editing strategies, native and synthetic expression systems and implications of protein secretion. This review focuses on the industrial workhorse Trichoderma reesei because this fungus is the best-studied member of this genus for protein expression and secretion. However, the discussed strategies and tools can be expected to be transferable to other Trichoderma species.

Development and validation of a UHPLC-ESI-QTOF mass spectrometry method to analyze opines, plant biomarkers of crown gall or hairy root diseases

Opines are low-molecular-weight metabolites specifically biosynthesized by agrobacteria-transformed plant cells when plants are struck by crown gall and hairy root diseases, which cause uncontrolled tissue overgrowth. Transferred DNA is sustainably incorporated into the genomes of the transformed plant cells, so that opines constitute a persistent biomarker of plant infection by pathogenic agrobacteria and can be targeted for crown gall/hairy root disease diagnosis. We developed a general, rapid, specific and sensitive analytical method for overall opine detection using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-ESI-MS-QTOF), with easy preparation of samples. Based on MS, MS/MS and chromatography data, the detection selectivity of a wide range of standard opines was validated in pure solution and in different plant extracts. The method was successfully used to detect different structural types of opines, including opines for which standard compounds are unavailable, in tumors or hairy roots induced by pathogenic strains. As the method can detect a wide range of opines in a single run, it represents a powerful tool for plant gall analysis and crown gall/hairy root disease diagnosis. Using an appropriate dilution of plant extract and a matrix-based calibration curve, the quantification ability of the method was validated for three opines belonging to different families (nopaline, octopine, mannopine), which were accurately quantified in plant tissue extracts.

Dynamic regulation of coral energy metabolism throughout the diel cycle

Coral reefs are naturally exposed to daily and seasonal variations in environmental oxygen levels, which can be exacerbated in intensity and duration by anthropogenic activities. However, coral’s diel oxygen dynamics and fermentative pathways remain poorly understood. Here, continuous oxygen microelectrode recordings in the coral diffusive boundary layer revealed hyperoxia during daytime and hypoxia at nighttime resulting from net photosynthesis and net respiration, respectively. The activities of the metabolic enzymes citrate synthase (CS), malate dehydrogenase, and strombine dehydrogenase remained constant throughout the day/night cycle, suggesting that energy metabolism was regulated through adjustments in metabolite fluxes and not through changes in enzyme abundance. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analyses identified strombine as coral’s main fermentative end product. Strombine levels peaked as oxygen became depleted at dusk, indicating increased fermentation rates at the onset of nightly hypoxia, and again at dawn as photosynthesis restored oxygen and photosynthate supply. When these peaks were excluded from the analyses, average strombine levels during the day were nearly double those at night, indicating sifnificant fermentation rates even during aerobic conditions. These results highlight the dynamic changes in oxygen levels in the coral diffusive boundary layer, and the importance of fermentative metabolism for coral biology.

Complete Sequence of Succinamopine Ti-Plasmid pTiEU6 Reveals Its Evolutionary Relatedness with Nopaline-Type Ti-Plasmids

Agrobacterium tumefaciens is the etiological agent of plant crown gall disease, which is induced by the delivery of a set of oncogenic genes into plant cells from its tumor-inducing (Ti) plasmid. Here we present the first complete sequence of a succinamopine-type Ti-plasmid. Plasmid pTiEU6 is comprised of 176,375 bp with an overall GC content of 56.1% and 195 putative protein-coding sequences could be identified. This Ti-plasmid is most closely related to nopaline-type Ti-plasmids. It contains a single T-region which is somewhat smaller than that of the nopaline-type Ti-plasmids and in which the gene for nopaline synthesis is replaced by a gene (sus) for succinamopine synthesis. Also in pTiEU6 the nopaline catabolic genes are replaced by genes for succinamopine catabolism. In order to trace the evolutionary origin of pTiEU6, we sequenced six nopaline Ti-plasmids to enlarge the scope for comparison to this class of plasmids. Average nucleotide identity analysis revealed that pTiEU6 was most closely related to nopaline Ti-plasmids pTiT37 and pTiSAKURA. In line with this traces of several transposable elements were present in all the nopaline Ti plasmids and in pTiEU6, but one specific transposable element insertion, that of a copy of IS1182, was present at the same site only in pTiEU6, pTiT37, and pTiSAKURA, but not in the other Ti plasmids. This suggests that pTiEU6 evolved after diversification of nopaline Ti-plasmids by DNA recombination between a pTiT37-like nopaline Ti-plasmid and another plasmid, thus introducing amongst others new catabolic genes matching a new opine synthase gene for succinamopine synthesis.

Simple and economical biosensors for distinguishing Agrobacterium-mediated plant galls from nematode-mediated root knots

Agrobacterium-mediated plant galls are often misdiagnosed as nematode-mediated knots, even by experts, because the gall symptoms in both conditions are very similar. In the present study, we developed biosensor strains based on agrobacterial opine metabolism that easily and simply diagnoses Agrobacterium-induced root galls. Our biosensor consists of Agrobacterium mannitol (ABM) agar medium, X-gal, and a biosensor. The working principle of the biosensor is that exogenous nopaline produced by plant root galls binds to NocR, resulting in NocR/nopaline complexes that bind to the promoter of the nopaline oxidase gene (nox) operon and activate the transcription of noxB-lacZY, resulting in readily visualized blue pigmentation on ABM agar medium supplemented with X-gal (ABMX-gal). Similarly, exogenous octopine binds to OccR, resulting in OoxR/octopine complexes that bind to the promoter of the octopine oxidase gene (oox) operon and activate the transcription of ooxB-lacZY, resulting in blue pigmentation in the presence of X-gal. Our biosensor is successfully senses opines produced by Agrobacterium-infected plant galls, and can be applied to easily distinguish Agrobacterium crown gall disease from nematode disease.

Simple rules govern the diversity of bacterial nicotianamine-like metallophores

In metal-scarce environments, some pathogenic bacteria produce opine-type metallophores mainly to face the host's nutritional immunity. This is the case of staphylopine, pseudopaline and yersinopine, identified in Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Yersinia pestis, respectively. Depending on the species, these metallophores are synthesized by two (CntLM) or three enzymes (CntKLM), CntM catalyzing the last step of biosynthesis using diverse substrates (pyruvate or α-ketoglutarate), pathway intermediates (xNA or yNA) and cofactors (NADH or NADPH). Here, we explored the substrate specificity of CntM by combining bioinformatic and structural analysis with chemical synthesis and enzymatic studies. We found that NAD(P)H selectivity is mainly due to the amino acid at position 33 (S. aureus numbering) which ensures a preferential binding to NADPH when it is an arginine. Moreover, whereas CntM from P. aeruginosa preferentially uses yNA over xNA, the staphylococcal enzyme is not stereospecific. Most importantly, selectivity toward α-ketoacids is largely governed by a single residue at position 150 of CntM (S. aureus numbering): an aspartate at this position ensures selectivity toward pyruvate, whereas an alanine leads to the consumption of both pyruvate and α-ketoglutarate. Modifying this residue in P. aeruginosa led to a complete reversal of selectivity. Thus, the diversity of opine-type metallophore is governed by the absence/presence of a cntK gene encoding a histidine racemase, and the amino acid residue at position 150 of CntM. These two simple rules predict the production of a fourth metallophore by Paenibacillus mucilaginosus, which was confirmed in vitro and called bacillopaline.

Niche Construction and Exploitation by Agrobacterium: How to Survive and Face Competition in Soil and Plant Habitats

Agrobacterium populations live in different habitats (bare soil, rhizosphere, host plants), and hence face different environmental constraints. They have evolved the capacity to exploit diverse resources and to escape plant defense and competition from other microbiota. By modifying the genome of their host, Agrobacterium populations exhibit the remarkable ability to construct and exploit the ecological niche of the plant tumors that they incite. This niche is characterized by the accumulation of specific, low molecular weight compounds termed opines that play a critical role in Agrobacterium 's lifestyle. We present and discuss the functions, advantages, and costs associated with this niche construction and exploitation.

Loss of PopZ At activity in Agrobacterium tumefaciens by Deletion or Depletion Leads to Multiple Growth Poles, Minicells, and Growth Defects

Agrobacterium tumefaciens grows by addition of peptidoglycan (PG) at one pole of the bacterium. During the cell cycle, the cell needs to maintain two different developmental programs, one at the growth pole and another at the inert old pole. Proteins involved in this process are not yet well characterized. To further characterize the role of pole-organizing protein A. tumefaciens PopZ (PopZ_At), we created deletions of the five PopZ_At domains and assayed their localization. In addition, we created a popZ_At deletion strain (ΔpopZ_At) that exhibited growth and cell division defects with ectopic growth poles and minicells, but the strain is unstable. To overcome the genetic instability, we created an inducible PopZ_At strain by replacing the native ribosome binding site with a riboswitch. Cultivated in a medium without the inducer theophylline, the cells look like ΔpopZ_At cells, with a branching and minicell phenotype. Adding theophylline restores the wild-type (WT) cell shape. Localization experiments in the depleted strain showed that the domain enriched in proline, aspartate, and glutamate likely functions in growth pole targeting. Helical domains H3 and H4 together also mediate polar localization, but only in the presence of the WT protein, suggesting that the H3 and H4 domains multimerize with WT PopZ_At, to stabilize growth pole accumulation of PopZ_At.

Agrobacterium tumefaciens is a rod-shaped bacterium that grows by addition of PG at only one pole. The factors involved in maintaining cell asymmetry during the cell cycle with an inert old pole and a growing new pole are not well understood. Here we investigate the role of PopZ_At, a homologue of Caulobacter crescentus PopZ (PopZ_Cc), a protein essential in many aspects of pole identity in C. crescentus. We report that the loss of PopZ_At leads to the appearance of branching cells, minicells, and overall growth defects. As many plant and animal pathogens also employ polar growth, understanding this process in A. tumefaciens may lead to the development of new strategies to prevent the proliferation of these pathogens. In addition, studies of A. tumefaciens will provide new insights into the evolution of the genetic networks that regulate bacterial polar growth and cell division.

Gall-ID: tools for genotyping gall-causing phytopathogenic bacteria

Understanding the population structure and genetic diversity of plant pathogens, as well as the effect of agricultural practices on pathogen evolution, is important for disease management. Developments in molecular methods have contributed to increase the resolution for accurate pathogen identification, but those based on analysis of DNA sequences can be less straightforward to use. To address this, we developed Gall-ID, a web-based platform that uses DNA sequence information from 16S rDNA, multilocus sequence analysis and whole genome sequences to group disease-associated bacteria to their taxonomic units. Gall-ID was developed with a particular focus on gall-forming bacteria belonging to Agrobacterium, Pseudomonas savastanoi, Pantoea agglomerans, and Rhodococcus. Members of these groups of bacteria cause growth deformation of plants, and some are capable of infecting many species of field, orchard, and nursery crops. Gall-ID also enables the use of high-throughput sequencing reads to search for evidence for homologs of characterized virulence genes, and provides downloadable software pipelines for automating multilocus sequence analysis, analyzing genome sequences for average nucleotide identity, and constructing core genome phylogenies. Lastly, additional databases were included in Gall-ID to help determine the identity of other plant pathogenic bacteria that may be in microbial communities associated with galls or causative agents in other diseased tissues of plants. The URL for Gall-ID is http://gall-id.cgrb.oregonstate.edu/.

Loss of PodJ in Agrobacterium tumefaciens Leads to Ectopic Polar Growth, Branching, and Reduced Cell Division

Agrobacterium tumefaciens is a rod-shaped Gram-negative bacterium that elongates by unipolar addition of new cell envelope material. Approaching cell division, the growth pole transitions to a nongrowing old pole, and the division site creates new growth poles in sibling cells. The A. tumefaciens homolog of the Caulobacter crescentus polar organizing protein PopZ localizes specifically to growth poles. In contrast, the A. tumefaciens homolog of the C. crescentus polar organelle development protein PodJ localizes to the old pole early in the cell cycle and accumulates at the growth pole as the cell cycle proceeds. FtsA and FtsZ also localize to the growth pole for most of the cell cycle prior to Z-ring formation. To further characterize the function of polar localizing proteins, we created a deletion of A. tumefaciens podJ (podJAt). ΔpodJAt cells display ectopic growth poles (branching), growth poles that fail to transition to an old pole, and elongated cells that fail to divide. In ΔpodJAt cells, A. tumefaciens PopZ-green fluorescent protein (PopZAt-GFP) persists at nontransitioning growth poles postdivision and also localizes to ectopic growth poles, as expected for a growth-pole-specific factor. Even though GFP-PodJAt does not localize to the midcell in the wild type, deletion of podJAt impacts localization, stability, and function of Z-rings as assayed by localization of FtsA-GFP and FtsZ-GFP. Z-ring defects are further evidenced by minicell production. Together, these data indicate that PodJAt is a critical factor for polar growth and that ΔpodJAt cells display a cell division phenotype, likely because the growth pole cannot transition to an old pole.

IMPORTANCE

How rod-shaped prokaryotes develop and maintain shape is complicated by the fact that at least two distinct species-specific growth modes exist: uniform sidewall insertion of cell envelope material, characterized in model organisms such as Escherichia coli, and unipolar growth, which occurs in several alphaproteobacteria, including Agrobacterium tumefaciens Essential components for unipolar growth are largely uncharacterized, and the mechanism constraining growth to one pole of a wild-type cell is unknown. Here, we report that the deletion of a polar development gene, podJAt, results in cells exhibiting ectopic polar growth, including multiple growth poles and aberrant localization of cell division and polar growth-associated proteins. These data suggest that PodJAt is a critical factor in normal polar growth and impacts cell division in A. tumefaciens.

Agrobacterium tumefaciens can obtain sulphur from an opine that is synthesized by octopine synthase using S-methylmethionine as a substrate

Agrobacterium tumefaciens incites plant tumours that produce nutrients called opines, which are utilized by the bacteria during host colonization. Various opines provide sources of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorous, but virtually nothing was previously known about how A. tumefaciens acquires sulphur during colonization. Some strains encode an operon required for the catabolism of the opine octopine. This operon contains a gene, msh, that is predicted to direct the conversion of S-methylmethionine (SMM) and homocysteine (HCys) to two equivalents of methionine. Purified Msh carried out this reaction, suggesting that SMM could be an intermediate in opine catabolism. Purified octopine synthase (Ocs, normally expressed in plant tumours) utilized SMM and pyruvate to produce a novel opine, designated sulfonopine, whose catabolism by the bacteria would regenerate SMM. Sulfonopine was produced by tobacco and Arabidopsis when colonized by A. tumefaciens and was utilized as sole source of sulphur by A. tumefaciens. Purified Ocs also used 13 other proteogenic and non-proteogenic amino acids as substrates, including three that contain sulphur. Sulfonopine and 11 other opines were tested for induction of octopine catabolic operon and all were able to do so. This is the first study of the acquisition of sulphur, an essential element, by this pathogen.

Proteomic profiling of Rhizobium tropici PRF 81: identification of conserved and specific responses to heat stress

Background

Rhizobium tropici strain PRF 81 (= SEMIA 4080) has been used in commercial inoculants for application to common-bean crops in Brazil since 1998, due to its high efficiency in fixing nitrogen, competitiveness against indigenous rhizobial populations and capacity to adapt to stressful tropical conditions, representing a key alternative to application of N-fertilizers. The objective of our study was to obtain an overview of adaptive responses to heat stress of strain PRF 81, by analyzing differentially expressed proteins when the bacterium is grown at 28°C and 35°C.

Results

Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2DE) revealed up-regulation of fifty-nine spots that were identified by MALDI-TOF/TOF-TOF. Differentially expressed proteins were associated with the functional COG categories of metabolism, cellular processes and signaling, information storage and processing. Among the up-regulated proteins, we found some related to conserved heat responses, such as molecular chaperones DnaK and GroEL, and other related proteins, such as translation factors EF-Tu, EF-G, EF-Ts and IF2. Interestingly, several oxidative stress-responsive proteins were also up-regulated, and these results reveal the diversity of adaptation mechanisms presented by this thermotolerant strain, suggesting a cross-talk between heat and oxidative stresses.

Conclusions

Our data provide valuable protein-expression information relevant to the ongoing genome sequencing of strain PRF 81, and contributes to our still-poor knowledge of the molecular determinants of the thermotolerance exhibited by R. tropici species.

Membrane and core periplasmic Agrobacterium tumefaciens virulence Type IV secretion system components localize to multiple sites around the bacterial perimeter during lateral attachment to plant cells

Type IV secretion systems (T4SS) transfer DNA and/or proteins into recipient cells. Here we performed immunofluorescence deconvolution microscopy to localize the assembled T4SS by detection of its native components VirB1, VirB2, VirB4, VirB5, VirB7, VirB8, VirB9, VirB10, and VirB11 in the C58 nopaline strain of Agrobacterium tumefaciens, following induction of virulence (vir) gene expression. These different proteins represent T4SS components spanning the inner membrane, periplasm, or outer membrane. Native VirB2, VirB5, VirB7, and VirB8 were also localized in the A. tumefaciens octopine strain A348. Quantitative analyses of the localization of all the above Vir proteins in nopaline and octopine strains revealed multiple foci in single optical sections in over 80% and 70% of the bacterial cells, respectively. Green fluorescent protein (GFP)-VirB8 expression following vir induction was used to monitor bacterial binding to live host plant cells; bacteria bind predominantly along their lengths, with few bacteria binding via their poles or subpoles. vir-induced attachment-defective bacteria or bacteria without the Ti plasmid do not bind to plant cells. These data support a model where multiple vir-T4SS around the perimeter of the bacterium maximize effective contact with the host to facilitate efficient transfer of DNA and protein substrates.

IMPORTANCE

Transfer of DNA and/or proteins to host cells through multiprotein type IV secretion system (T4SS) complexes that span the bacterial cell envelope is critical to bacterial pathogenesis. Early reports suggested that T4SS components localized at the cell poles. Now, higher-resolution deconvolution fluorescence microscopy reveals that all structural components of the Agrobacterium tumefaciens vir-T4SS, as well as its transported protein substrates, localize to multiple foci around the cell perimeter. These results lead to a new model of A. tumefaciens attachment to a plant cell, where A. tumefaciens takes advantage of the multiple vir-T4SS along its length to make intimate lateral contact with plant cells and thereby effectively transfer DNA and/or proteins through the vir-T4SS. The T4SS of A. tumefaciens is among the best-studied T4SS, and the majority of its components are highly conserved in different pathogenic bacterial species. Thus, the results presented can be applied to a broad range of pathogens that utilize T4SS.

Agrobacterium-produced and exogenous cytokinin-modulated Agrobacterium-mediated plant transformation

Agrobacterium tumefaciens is a plant pathogenic bacterium that causes neoplastic growths, called 'crown gall', via the transfer and integration of transferred DNA (T-DNA) from the bacterium into the plant genome. We characterized an acetosyringone (AS)-induced tumour-inducing (Ti) plasmid gene, tzs (trans-zeatin synthesizing), that is responsible for the synthesis of the plant hormone cytokinin in nopaline-type A. tumefaciens strains. The loss of Tzs protein expression and trans-zeatin secretions by the tzs frameshift (tzs-fs) mutant is associated with reduced tumorigenesis efficiency on white radish stems and reduced transformation efficiencies on Arabidopsis roots. Complementation of the tzs-fs mutant with a wild-type tzs gene restored wild-type levels of trans-zeatin secretions and transformation efficiencies. Exogenous application of cytokinin during infection increased the transient transformation efficiency of Arabidopsis roots infected by strains lacking Tzs, which suggests that the lower transformation efficiency resulted from the lack of Agrobacterium-produced cytokinin. Interestingly, although the tzs-fs mutant displayed reduced tumorigenesis efficiency on several tested plants, the loss of Tzs enhanced tumorigenesis efficiencies on green pepper and cowpea. These data strongly suggest that Tzs, by synthesizing trans-zeatin at early stage(s) of the infection process, modulates plant transformation efficiency by A. tumefaciens.

A plant cell factor induces Agrobacterium tumefaciens vir gene expression

The virulence genes of Agrobacterium are required for this organism to genetically transform plant cells. We show that vir gene expression is specifically induced by a small (<1000 Da) diffusible plant cell metabolite present in limiting quantities in the exudates of a variety of plant cell cultures. Active plant cell metabolism is required for the synthesis of the vir-inducing factor, and the presence of bacteria does not stimulate this production. vir-inducing factor is (i) heat and cold stable; (ii) pH stable, although vir induction with the factor is sensitive above pH 6.0; and (iii) partially hydrophobic. Induction of vir gene expression was assayed by monitoring beta-galactosidase activity in Agrobacterium strains that carry gene fusions between each of the vir loci and the lacZ gene of Escherichia coli. vir-inducing factor (partially purified on a C-18 column) induces both the expression in Agrobacterium of six distinct loci and the production of T-DNA circular molecules, which are thought to be involved in the transformation process. vir-inducing factor potentially represents the signal that Agrobacterium recognizes in nature as a plant cell susceptible to transformation.

Tumor induction by Agrobacterium rhizogenes involves the transfer of plasmid DNA to the plant genome

The DNA from tumors of Nicotiana glauca initiated by strains of Agrobacterium rhizogenes was shown to contain sequences that are homologous to the root-inducing (Ri) plasmid of the bacterium. Two independently established tumor lines contained a similar portion of the Ri-plasmid. The Ri-plasmid also hybridized to DNA fragments from uninfected N. glauca. A cosmid clone of the Ri-plasmid encompassing the region containing the Ri-plasmid sequences that are stably transferred to the plant also hybridized to the Ri-plasmid-related fragments found in uninfected plants. Five of six tumor lines tested produced a tumor-specific compound that is similar to agropine.

Identification of an essential upstream element in the nopaline synthase promoter by stable and transient assays

We studied the fine structure of the nopaline synthase (nos) promoter, which is active constitutively in a wide range of plant tissues, by both transient and stable transformation expression analyses. 3' and 5' deletion fragments were linked to form a set of internal deletion and duplication mutants that scanned the nos promoter. These mutated promoters were linked to the gene for the marker chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CATase) as a means to readily assay promoter strength. The stable transformation analysis revealed the functional importance of an extended CCAAT box region (-97 to -63). Deletion of an upstream region (-112 to -101) containing an octameric repeated element resulted in a reduction in promoter strength by a factor of 30. A further deletion (-119 to -101) disrupted a potential Z-DNA-forming element as well, totally eliminating promoter function. Thus, a 19-base deletion across a repeated octamer and a potential Z-DNA-forming element identifies an essential upstream activator in the nos promoter. Duplication of the upstream element tripled promoter activity. Electroporation-mediated transient analysis was unable to distinguish downstream promoter elements. However, the upstream element behaved similarly in both assays in that deletion of the entire upstream element resulted in no promoter activity and that duplication of the element significantly enhanced the promoter strength.

Recombination between higher plant DNA and the Ti plasmid of Agrobacterium tumefaciens

The Ti plasmid sequences (T-DNA) from the octopine-producing crown gall tumor A6S/2 were isolated by molecular cloning, using the bacteriophage lambda vector Charon 4A. Analysis of the cloned DNA segments indicates that the Ti plasmid sequences are covalently joined to plant nuclear DNA. These data demonstrate that genetic recombination between a eukaryote and a prokaryote can occur as a natural phenomenon.

Proteins encoded by Agrobacterium tumefaciens Ti plasmid DNA (T-DNA) in crown gall tumors

In order to detect proteins that may be produced in crown gall tumors as a result of expression of incorporated Agrobacterium tumefaciens Ti plasmid DNA (T-DNA), we have isolated mRNA complementary to T-DNA and translated this in a protein-synthesizing system derived from wheat germ. mRNA prepared from cultured E1 tumor from Nicotiana tabacum hybridized with HindIII fragment 1 sequences of T-DNA immobilized on cellulose nitrate filters. Two proteins of 30,000 and 16,500 M(r) were produced when this selected RNA was released and translated. Other tumor lines from N. tabacum were investigated, and a protein of slightly less than 30,000 M(r) was encoded by HindIII fragment 1 sequences of 15955/01 tumor. No products were observed for 15955/1 tumor line, which differs from E1/B6-806 and 15955/01 in that it does not produce octopine. mRNA species of each of the tumor lines hybridized to Bst I fragment 8 sequences of T-DNA and produced a common protein of 15,000 M(r). Because this protein is derived from the region of the T-DNA that is conserved in octopine- and nopaline-type crown gall tumors, it may play a role in oncogenicity.

Leucinopine, a characteristic compound of some crown-gall tumors

An unusual compound has been found in crowngall tumors induced by those Agrobacterium tumefaciens strains that utilize neither octopine nor nopaline. The compound has been isolated and shown by proton and carbon-13 NMR spectroscopy and by synthesis to be N(2)-(1,3-dicarboxypropyl)-L-leucine, which also exists in a cyclized (i.e., lactam) form. This compound, which we name "leucinopine," was not detected in octopine tumors, nopaline tumors, or the tumors induced by A. tumefaciens strains 181 and EU6.

Short direct repeats flank the T-DNA on a nopaline Ti plasmid

Crown gall disease results from the insertion of a segment of the Agrobacterium Ti plasmid, called T-DNA, into host plant nuclear DNA. We have subjected to sequence analysis the border regions of pTi T37 (ends of T-DNA) and one left T-DNA/plant DNA border fragment isolated from BT37 tobacco teratoma by molecular cloning. These sequence studies, taken together with published sequence of a right T-DNA/plant DNA border fragment, allowed us to identify the positions of left and right borders at the DNA sequence level. Comparison of left and right border regions of the Ti plasmid revealed a "core" direct repeat of 13 of 14 bases (12 contiguous) precisely at the borders of T-DNA. An extended repeat of 21 of 25 bases overlaps this core repeat. T-DNA on the Ti plasmid exhibits no longer direct or inverted repeats in the border regions, based on Southern hybridization studies. The physical structure of T-DNA differs from that of known prokaryotic and eukaryotic transposable elements but bears a structural resemblance to the prophage of bacteriophage lambda.

Agropine in "null-type" crown gall tumors: Evidence for generality of the opine concept

Agrobacterium Ti (tumor-inducing) plasmids, the causative agents of crown gall disease, fall into four genetic groups based on the patterns of octopine and nopaline synthesis (by crown gall tumors) and catabolism (by Agrobacterium tumefaciens) for which they are responsible. Two classes of Ti plasmids induce tumors that synthesize neither octopine nor nopaline. The existence of these Ti plasmids challenged the view that opines such as octopine and nopaline play a central role in crown gall biology. We now report the occurrence of an opine in tumors induced by one of these classes of Ti plasmids, the "null-type" plasmids typified by pTi Bo542. The opine was purified by biological enrichment based on its utilization by bacteria containing pTi Bo542 but not by bacteria lacking a Ti plasmid. The mass spectrum and biological properties of this opine are identical to those of agropine, an opine recently discovered in octopine-type tumors. We propose that null-type Ti plasmids now be named for their signal opine, agropine-type Ti plasmids.

T-DNA from Agrobacterium Ti plasmid is in the nuclear DNA fraction of crown gall tumor cells

The crown gall teratoma tumor line BT37, incited by Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain T37, has been found to contain part of the tumor-inducing plasmid, pTi T37, of the inciting strain. This foreign DNA segment, called T-DNA, is maintained at several copies per diploid tumor cell. We have examined subcellular DNA fractions from this tumor line in an effort to determine whether T-DNA is in chloroplasts, mitochondria, or nuclei. Tumor cell chloroplast DNA exhibited EcoRI and Bst I endonuclease cleavage patterns identical to those of normal tobacco chloroplast DNA. Tumor cell mitochondrial DNA exhibited a complex Bst I cleavage pattern that did not differ detectably from that of normal tobacco mitochondrial DNA. Southern blots of tumor chloroplast and mitochondrial cleavage products did not hybridize with labeled pTi T37 DNA, whereas blots of tumor cell nuclear DNA cleavage products hybridized strongly. We conclude that T-DNA is located not in chloroplasts or mitochondria but rather in the nuclear fraction of this tumor line.

Revertant seedlings from crown gall tumors retain a portion of the bacterial Ti plasmid DNA sequences

BT37 is a crown gall teratoma incited on tobacco by Agrobacterium tumefaciens containing pTi-T37, a nopaline-type Ti plasmid. Treatment of this cloned tumor tissue with kinetin at 1 mg/liter results in the formation of relatively normal-appearing shoots. These shoots can be induced to root and set viable seed. In contrast to BT37 tissue, the derived tissues are not phytohormone independent and do not produce nopaline. The reverted plants, like normal tobacco plants, are susceptible to infection by A. tumefaciens. This loss of tumorous traits is accompanied by the loss of most of the Ti plasmid sequences (T-DNA) found in BT37 DNA. Southern blot analysis indicates that the revertant tissues have lost the central portion of the T-DNA, which contains the "common DNA" sequences, a highly conserved region of the Ti plasmid that has been found to be incorporated into all tumors studied. Thus, these sequences appear necessary for oncogenicity and tumor maintenance and their loss is probably directly related to tumor reversal. The reverted plants as well as the plants obtained from seed, however, do retain sequences homologous to the ends of the T-DNA present in the parental teratoma. The persistence of foreign DNA sequences during the process of meiosis and seed formation has important implications for the possibility of the genetic engineering of plants.

Plasmid-dependent temperature-sensitive phase in crown gall tumorigenesis

Two methods have been used to show that the temperature-sensitive (ts) genes for plasmid maintenance located on pTiC58 are responsible for the presence of a specific 37 degrees C ts period during crown gall tumorigenesis. Tumors induced by Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain C58 become resistant to 32 degrees C by 96 hr after infection, indicating that the "inception phase" of crown gall is complete at that time. However, C58 tumors remain sensitive to 37 degrees C until 168 hr after infection. When pTiC58 is replaced in strain C58 by a plasmid that is temperature resistant for maintenance within the bacterium at 37 degrees C (B(6)806) the tumors induced by the new strain (A277) become resistant to 37 degrees C by 96 hr after infection. Furthermore, when pTiC58 is selected for temperature resistance in strain C58 at 37 degrees C, the tumors induced by the new strain, C58(TR), become resistant to 37 degrees C approximately 40 hr earlier than do tumors induced by the parent strain C58. These results prove that the 37 degrees C ts period (96-168 hr after infection) is coded for ts plasmid maintenance genes located on pTiC58. Incorporation of [(3)H]-thymidine into pTiC58 in strain C58 is specifically inhibited at 37 degrees C compared to chromosomal DNA and is not inhibited at 32 degrees C. The data presented support a mechanism in which the 37 degrees C, ts period between 96 and 168 hr after infection is due to the requirement for the plasmid-coded maintenance genes involved in plasmid replication within incipient tumor cells. The fact that the 37 degrees C ts period ends after 168 hr indicates a transient requirement for the ts gene product, perhaps due to the stable integration of plasmid DNA into plant genetic elements by that time.

Thermosensitive step associated with transfer of the Ti plasmid during conjugation: Possible relation to transformation in crown gall

It is reported here that transfer by means of a conjugative process of an oncogenic plasmid from a virulent strain of Agrobacterium tumefaciens to a strain of that organism that had been cured of the plasmid is thermosensitive. Since the thermosensitive step found in the conjugative process appears similar in every respect to a thermosensitive step that is involved in the transformation of a normal cell to a tumor cell in the crown gall disease of plants, it is suggested that the observed results may reflect the existence of a thermosensitive step that is common to these two processes.

Diversity of opines and opine-catabolizing bacteria isolated from naturally occurring crown gall tumors

The diversity of opines from 43 naturally occurring crown gall tumors on several plant species was analyzed for the presence of agropine, chrysopine, iminodiacid, an unidentified leucinopine-like iminodiacid (IDA-B), mannopine, octopine, nopaline, DL- and LL-succinamopine, leucinopine and heliopine. Opine utilization patterns of agrobacteria and fluorescent pseudomonads resident in a tumor were then analyzed and compared for agreement with the opine isolated from that tumor. Nopaline was the most common opine found and was detected in tumors from cherry, blackberry, grape, and plum. Octopine was not found, although octopine-catabolizing bacteria were isolated from several tumors. A new, previously undescribed iminodiacid of the succinamopine-leucinopine type (provisionally designated IDA-B) was isolated from tumors of wild blackberry. Field tumors from apple, blueberry and grape yielded no detectable opines, even though opine-utilizing bacteria were present. Bacterial isolates from plum and cherry showed the best correspondence between the opine in tumors (nopaline) and the presence of bacteria that catabolized that opine. However, several unusual opine catabolic combinations were identified, including isolates that catabolized a variety of opines but were nonpathogenic. More variability was observed among isolates from field tumors on the remaining plant species. We isolated novel mannopine-nopaline type agrobacteria from field tumors of cherry, plum and blackberry that induced tumors containing either mannopine (plus agropine) or nopaline, but not both. Epidemiologically, the galled plants from an area were not of clonal origin (same Ti plasmid), indicating that the field tumors from a small area were incited by more than one type of Ti plasmid.

Optimization of conditions for transient Agrobacterium-mediated gene expression assays in Arabidopsis

Transient genetic transformation of plant organs is an indispensable way of studying gene function in plants. This study was aimed to develop an optimized system for transient Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of the Arabidopsis leaves. The beta-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene was employed to evaluate growth and biochemical parameters that influence the levels of transient expression. The effects of plant culture conditions, Agrobacterial genetic backgrounds, densities of Agrobacterial cell suspensions, and of several detergents were analyzed. We found that optimization of plant culture conditions is the most critical factor among the parameters analyzed. Higher levels of transient expression were observed in plants grown under short day conditions (SDs) than in plants grown under long day conditions (LDs). Furthermore, incubation of the plants under SDs at high relative humidity (85-90%) for 24 h after infiltration greatly improved the levels of transient expression. Under the optimized culture conditions, expression of the reporter gene reached the peak 3 days after infiltration and was rapidly decreased after the peak. Among the five Agrobacterial strains examined, LAB4404 produced the highest levels of expression. We also examined the effects of detergents, including Triton X-100, Tween-20, and Silwet L-77. Supplementation of the infiltration media either with 0.01% Triton X-100 or 0.01% Tween-20 improved the levels of expression by approximately 1.6-fold. Our observations indicate that transient transformation of the Arabidopsis leaves in the infiltration media supplemented with 0.01% Triton X-100 and incubation of the infiltrated plants under SDs at high relative humidity are necessary for maximal levels of expression.

The state of phage psi DNA in lysogenic cells of Agrobacterium tumefaciens

Phage psi a temperate phage of Agrobacterium tunefaciens is mutagenic, grows poorly in strains which contain a pTi plasmid, and can be transferred by conjugation (D. Expert and J. Tourneur, 1982, J. Virol., 42, 283-291). In an attempt to explain these unusual properties we undertook a study of the state of psi DNA in the virion, during the lytic cycle, and in lysogenic cells. In the virions, the phage genome was found to consist of circularly permuted molecules. Covalently closed circular forms of these molecules could be detected in lytically infected cells. These appeared late in phage infection, accumulated in pTi-containing cells. The same circular forms were found in lysogens but they could not correspond to the permanent state of phage psi because they were present at less than one copy per cell. Restriction enzyme analysis and Southern blotting revealed the presence of a psi prophage integrated in the host chromosome. The site of integration in the chromosome was unique and the same in all lysogens tested. The results implied that the integration involves a circular form of psi DNA. The bearing of these findings regarding the properties of phage is discussed.

The ntrC gene of Agrobacterium tumefaciens C58 controls glutamine synthetase (GSII) activity, growth on nitrate and chromosomal but not Ti-encoded arginine catabolism pathways

The ntrC locus of Agrobacterium tumefaciens C58 has been cloned using the Azorhizobium sesbaniae ORS571 ntrC gene as a DNA hybridization probe. Transposon Tn5 mutagenesis of the cloned ntrC locus was carried out and one Tn5 insertion within the region of highest DNA homology with A. sesbaniae ORS571 ntrC was used for gene replacement of the wild-type C58 ntrC gene. The A. tumefaciens ntrC::Tn5 mutant was found to be unable to grow on nitrate as sole nitrogen (N) source, to lack glutamine synthetase (GSII) activity and to be unable to use arginine (or ornithine) as sole N source, unless the Ti-encoded arginine catabolism pathway was induced with small amounts of nopaline. Thus the A. tumefaciens ntrC regulatory gene is essential for (transcriptional) activation of the GSII and nitrate reductase genes, as well as for the chromosomal but not the Ti-borne arginine catabolism pathways.

Resurrection of an ancestral gene: functional and evolutionary analyses of the Ngrol genes transferred from Agrobacterium to Nicotiana

The Ng rol genes, which have high similarity in sequence to the rol genes of Agrobacterium rhizogenes, are present in the genome of untransformed plants of Nicotiana glauca. It is thought that bacterial infection resulted in the transfer of the Ng rol genes to plants early in the evolution of the genus Nicotiana, since several species in this genus contain rol-like sequences but others do not. Plants transformed with the bacterial rol genes exhibit various developmental and morphological changes. The presence of rol-like sequences in plant genomes is therefore thought to have contributed to the evolution of Nicotiana species. This paper focuses on studies of the Ng rol genes in present-day plants and during the evolution of the genus Nicotiana. The functional sequences of several Ng rol genes may have been conserved after their ancient introduction from a bacterium to the plant. Resurrection of an ancestral function of one of the Ng rol genes, as examined by physiological and evolutionary analyses, is also described. The origin of the Ng rol genes is then considered, based on results of molecular phylogenetic analyses. The effects of the horizontal transfer of the Ng rol genes and mutations in the genes are discussed on the plants of the genus Nicotiana during evolution.

Efficient vir gene induction in Agrobacterium tumefaciens requires virA, virG, and vir box from the same Ti plasmid

The vir genes of octopine, nopaline, and L,L-succinamopine Ti plasmids exhibit structural and functional similarities. However, we observed differences in the interactions between octopine and nopaline vir components. The induction of an octopine virE(A6)::lacZ fusion (pSM358cd) was 2.3-fold higher in an octopine strain (A348) than in a nopaline strain (C58). Supplementation of the octopine virG(A6) in a nopaline strain with pSM358 did not completely restore virE(A6) induction. However, addition of the octopine virA(A6) to the above strain increased virE(A6) induction to a level almost comparable to that in octopine strains. In a reciprocal analysis, the induction of a nopaline virE(C58)::cat fusion (pUCD1553) was two- to threefold higher in nopaline (C58 and T37) strains than in octopine (A348 and Ach5) and L,L-succinamopine (A281) strains. Supplementation of nopaline virA(C58) and virG(C58) in an octopine strain (A348) harboring pUCD1553 increased induction levels of virE(C58)::cat fusion to a level comparable to that in a nopaline strain (C58). Our results suggest that octopine and L,L-succinamopine VirG proteins induce the octopine virE(A6) more efficiently than they do the nopaline virE(C58). Conversely, the nopaline VirG protein induces the nopaline virE(C58) more efficiently than it does the octopine virE(A6). The ability of Bo542 virG to bring about supervirulence in tobacco is observed for an octopine vir helper (LBA4404) but not for a nopaline vir helper (PMP90). Our analyses reveal that quantitative differences exist in the interactions between VirG and vir boxes of different Ti plasmids. Efficient vir gene induction in octopine and nopaline strains requires virA, virG, and vir boxes from the respective Ti plasmids.

Role of the Agrobacterium tumefaciens VirD2 protein in T-DNA transfer and integration

VirD2 is one of the key Agrobacterium tumefaciens proteins involved in T-DNA processing and transfer. In addition to its endonuclease domain, VirD2 contains a bipartite C-terminal nuclear localization sequence (NLS) and a conserved region called omega that is important for virulence. Previous results from our laboratory indicated that the C-terminal, bipartite NLS and the omega region are not essential for nuclear uptake of T-DNA, and further suggested that the omega domain may be required for efficient integration of T-DNA into the plant genome. In this study, we took two approaches to investigate the importance of the omega domain in T-DNA integration. Using the first approach, we constructed a T-DNA binary vector containing a promoterless gusA-intron gene just inside the right T-DNA border. The expression of beta-glucuronidase (GUS) activity in plant cells transformed by this T-DNA would indicate that the T-DNA integrated downstream of a plant promoter. Approximately 0.4% of the tobacco cell clusters infected by a wild-type A. tumefaciens strain harboring this vector stained blue with 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl beta-D-glucuronic acid (X-gluc). However, using an omega-mutant A. tumefaciens strain harboring the same binary vector, we did not detect any blue staining. Using the second approach, we directly demonstrated that more T-DNA is integrated into high-molecular-weight plant DNA after infection of Arabidopsis thaliana cells with a wild-type A. tumefaciens strain than with a strain containing a VirD2 omega deletion/substitution. Taken together, these data indicate that the VirD2 omega domain is important for efficient T-DNA integration. To determine whether the use of the T-DNA right border is altered in those few tumors generated by A. tumefaciens strains harboring the omega mutation, we analyzed DNA extracted from these tumors. Our data indicate that the right border was used to integrate the T-DNA in a similar manner regardless of whether the VirD2 protein encoded by the inciting A. tumefaciens was wild-type or contained an omega mutation. In addition, a mutant VirD2 protein lacking the omega domain was as least as active in cleaving a T-DNA border in vitro as was the wild-type protein. Finally, we investigated the role of various amino acids of the omega and bipartite NLS domains in the targeting of a GUS-VirD2 fusion protein to the nucleus of electroporated tobacco protoplasts. Deletion of the omega domain, or mutation of the 10-amino-acid region between the two components of the bipartite NLS, had little effect upon the nuclear targeting of the GUS-VirD2 fusion protein. Mutation of both components of the NLS reduced, but did not eliminate, targeting of the fusion protein to the nucleus.

A T-DNA gene required for agropine biosynthesis by transformed plants is functionally and evolutionarily related to a Ti plasmid gene required for catabolism of agropine by Agrobacterium strains

The mechanisms that ensure that Ti plasmid T-DNA genes encoding proteins involved in the biosynthesis of opines in crown gall tumors are always matched by Ti plasmid genes conferring the ability to catabolize that set of opines on the inducing Agrobacterium strains are unknown. The pathway for the biosynthesis of the opine agropine is thought to require an enzyme, mannopine cyclase, coded for by the ags gene located in the T(R) region of octopine-type Ti plasmids. Extracts prepared from agropine-type tumors contained an activity that cyclized mannopine to agropine. Tumor cells containing a T region in which ags was mutated lacked this activity and did not contain agropine. Expression of ags from the lac promoter conferred mannopine-lactonizing activity on Escherichia coli. Agrobacterium tumefaciens strains harboring an octopine-type Ti plasmid exhibit a similar activity which is not coded for by ags. Analysis of the DNA sequence of the gene encoding this activity, called agcA, showed it to be about 60% identical to T-DNA ags genes. Relatedness decreased abruptly in the 5' and 3' untranslated regions of the genes. ags is preceded by a promoter that functions only in the plant. Expression analysis showed that agcA also is preceded by its own promoter, which is active in the bacterium. Translation of agcA yielded a protein of about 45 kDa, consistent with the size predicted from the DNA sequence. Antibodies raised against the agcA product cross-reacted with the anabolic enzyme. These results indicate that the agropine system arose by a duplication of a progenitor gene, one copy of which became associated with the T-DNA and the other copy of which remained associated with the bacterium.

The N-terminal portion of the 216-kDa polyprotein of Commelina yellow mottle badnavirus is required for virus movement but not for replication

Commelina yellow mottle virus (CoYMV) is the type member of the badnaviruses, a genus of plant pararetroviruses. The N-terminus of the polyprotein encoded by ORF III has limited similarity to known cell-to-cell movement proteins. To test the hypothesis that the N-terminus is required for viral movement, the phenotypes caused by mutations constructed in this region were determined. Similar to mutants affected in the reverse transcriptase, mutants affected in the putative movement protein were unable to cause a systemic infection. However, when the abilities of the mutated viral genomes to direct virion assembly and replication were tested using an in vitro stem-culture system, the mutants affected in the putative movement protein were found to assemble virions, whereas the reverse transcriptase mutants were unable to do so. Moreover, the putative movement protein mutants were shown to be replication competent by detection and mapping of one of the genomic discontinuities that are the hallmark of replication by reverse transcription. Thus the N-terminal region of ORF III is required for the systemic movement but not for the replication of CoYMV.

Identification of the Agrobacterium tumefaciens C58 T-DNA genes e and f and their impact on crown gall tumour formation

DNA sequence analysis of the 4.4 kilobases (kb) Eco RI fragment 14 from T-DNA of Agrobacterium tumefaciens C58 revealed three open reading frames. One of them (945 bp) was supposed to encode the transcript e, the function of which has not been identified to date. Furthermore, a so far undescribed open reading frame (1035 bp) was identified, located in the centre of the Eco RI fragment 14 and termed gene f. The third open reading frame encoded the carboxy-terminal part of the agrocinopine synthase (Acs). The gene e-encoded protein showed significant homologies to the gene products of the Agrobacterium rhizogenes rolB gene and the Agrobacterium tumefaciens gene 5. Both gene products are supposed to regulate the plant's reaction on auxin. Depending on the plant species tested, Agrobacterium strains carrying mutations in gene e induced only small or almost no detectable crown gall tumours. According to these mutational studies and the protein homologies observed, the gene e product is suggested to be involved in tumour formation. Infection of several plant species with Agrobacterium carrying a mutated gene f, as well as expression of the gene f in transgenic tobacco plants did not lead to visible morphological changes. Therefore, in contrast to gene e, the gene f seems not to be essential for tumour formation. In order to study whether gene f is an active gene, its expression in agrobacteria and plants was monitored by translational lacZ fusion. In planta, the putative gene f-promoter mediates a tissue-specific expression pattern. Although gene f was expressed in free-living agrobacteria as well as in transgenic plants, the function of the f locus remained unclear. DNA homology studies with the f gene region revealed a mosaic-like DNA structure, indicating that this locus might be the result of genetic exchanges between different Agrobacterium strains during evolution.

T-DNA-insert-independent mutations induced in transformed plant cells during Agrobacterium co-cultivation

Transformation frequencies were determined for 1n, 2n, and 4n Nicotiana plumbaginifolia protoplast cultures in Agrobacterium-mediated gene transfer experiments. An unexpected large drop (50%) in plating efficiencies was observed in the non-selected (control) 1n populations after transformation treatment with virulent strains. This effect was not observed in the 2n or 4n cultures or in the 1n cultures when treated with avirulent bacteria. The mortality was disproportionally high and could not be explained by the low (0.1-0.5%) transformation efficiency in the 1n population, indicating mutagenesis of the cell populations independently from the T-DNA insertions. Mutagenesis was also indicated in gene tagging experiments where nitrate reductase-deficient (NR-) mutants were selected from haploid Nicotiana plumbaginifolia protoplasts, as well as from leaf disc cultures or protoplasts of diploid plants that were heterozygotic for a mutation either in the NR apoenzyme gene (nia/wt) or one of the molybdenum-containing cofactor genes (cnxA/wt), after Agrobacterium co-cultivation. The chlorate-resistant isolates were tested for the T-DNA-specific kanamycin resistance trait only after NR-deficiency had been established. Thirty-nine independent NR-deficient mutants were analysed further by Southern blot hybridization. There was no indication of integrated T-DNA sequences in the mutated NR genes, despite the fact that NR-deficient cells were found more frequently in cell populations which became transformed during the treatment than in the populations which did not.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Functional role of the Ti plasmid-encoded catabolic mannopine cyclase in mannityl opine catabolism by Agrobacterium spp

Catabolic mannopine (MOP) cyclase encoded by Ti or Ri plasmids lactonizes MOP to agropine (AGR). The gene of the octopine-type Ti plasmid pTi15955 encoding the catabolic MOP cyclase enzyme previously was localized to a 1.6-kb segment within a cosmid clone, pYDH208. A subclone containing only this region complemented the AGR catabolism-negative phenotype conferred by a derivative of the octopine-type plasmid pTiB6S3 containing a Tn7 insertion in the region encoding the MOP cyclase enzyme. Uptake assays of strains harboring pRiA4 or pArA4a, along with complementation analyses, indicate that MOP cyclase is not sufficient for catabolism of AGR but that the strains must also express an AGR transport system. To determine the requirement for MOP cyclase in opine catabolism unequivocally, a site-specific, nonpolar deletion mutation abolishing only MOP cyclase activity was introduced into pYDH208, a cosmid clone that confers utilization of MOP, AGR, and mannopinic acid (MOA). Strains harboring this MOP cyclase-negative mutant clone, pYDPH208, did not utilize AGR but continued to utilize MOP. Growth on AGR was restored in this strain upon introduction of clones encoding the pTi15955-derived catabolic or anabolic MOP cyclase genes. The induction pattern of MOA catabolism shown by strain NT1 harboring the MOP cyclase-deficient pYDPH208 suggests that AGR is converted into MOP by MOP cyclase and that MOP, but not AGR, induces catabolism of MOA. Genetic and biochemical analyses of MOP and AGR metabolism suggest that only the conversion of AGR to MOP is directly involved in catabolism of AGR, even though the reaction catalyzed by MOP cyclase predominantly lies in the lactonization of MOP to AGR.

Mapping and genetic organization of pTiChry5, a novel Ti plasmid from a highly virulent Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain

Agrobacterium tumefaciens Chry5, a wild-type strain originally isolated from chrysanthemum, is unusually tumorigenic, particularly on soybean. We have mapped the Chry5 Ti plasmid by genomic walking and restriction endonuclease analysis, and have located its virulence, T-DNA, plasmid incompatibility, and L,L-succinamopine utilization loci. Southern analysis has revealed that about 85% of the Chry5 Ti plasmid is highly homologous to another Ti plasmid, pTiBo542. Although all the functions that we have located on pTiChry5 are encoded by pTiBo542-homologous regions, the two Ti plasmids differ in their genetic organization. The overall patterns of restriction sites in the plasmids also differ, with the exception of an approximately 12 kb segment of the virulence region, where the BamHI sites appear to be conserved. Complementation analysis has shown that deletion of a DNA segment which flanks the oncogenic T-DNA results in severe attenuation of virulence. This region also contains a sequence that is repeated in the Chry5 genome outside the Ti plasmid, and that is widely distributed in the Rhizobiaceae.

Organization and regulation of the mannopine cyclase-associated opine catabolism genes in Agrobacterium tumefaciens 15955

We have isolated and characterized Tn3HoHo1- and Tn5-induced mutants of a cosmid clone, pYDH208, which encodes the mannopine (MOP) cyclase-associated catabolism of MOP and agropine (AGR). Characterization of the transposon-induced lacZ fusion mutants by beta-galactosidase activity and mannityl opine utilization patterns identified at least 6 genetic units associated with the catabolism of these opines. Functions for the catabolism of MOP and mannopinic acid are encoded by a 16.4-kb region, whereas those for AGR are encoded by a 9.4-kb region located within the MOP catabolic locus. The induction pattern of catabolism shown by transposon insertion derivatives suggests that the catabolism of MOP, AGR, and mannopinic acid encoded by pYDH208 is regulated by at least two independent control elements. Kinetic uptake assays indicate that the clone encodes two transport systems for MOP and AGR, one constitutive and slow and the other inducible and rapid. Analysis of beta-galactosidase activities from lacZ reporter gene fusions indicated that expression of mannityl opine catabolic genes is not strongly repressed by sugars but is repressed by succinate when ammonium is the nitrogen source. The repression exerted by succinate was relieved when MOP was supplied as the sole source of nitrogen. This suggests that genes for opine catabolism encoded by pYDH208 are regulated, in part, by nitrogen availability.

Characterization of a putative periplasmic transport system for octopine accumulation encoded by Agrobacterium tumefaciens Ti plasmid pTiA6

Neoplastic crown gall tumors incited by Agrobacterium tumefaciens release novel amino acid or sugar derivatives known as opines, whose synthesis is directed by genes transferred to plant cells. Agrobacterium cells can transport and catabolize these compounds as sources of carbon and nitrogen. This article describes a region of the pTiA6 plasmid which is required for catabolism of the opine octopine and whose transcription is induced by octopine. This region of the plasmid contains four open reading frames, occQ, occM, occP, and occJ, which show homology to the family of so-called shock-sensitive permeases. TnphoA mutagenesis demonstrated that the OccJ and OccM proteins lie fully or partly in the periplasmic space. The OccJ protein was identified by electrophoresis and found to be fully localized in the periplasmic space. When these proteins were expressed in Escherichia coli, radiolabeled octopine became cell-associated.

Characterization of an Unusual New Agrobacterium tumefaciens Strain from Chrysanthemum morifolium Ram

We characterized five isolates of Agrobacterium tumefaciens from naturally occurring galls on Chrysanthemum morifolium. The isolates are similar, possibly identical, members of a single strain of A. tumefaciens that we designate Chry5. The strain is a biotype I, as indicated by its response to both newly described and traditional biotype tests. Chry5 produces tumors on at least 10 plant species. It is unusual in its ability to form efficiently large tumors on soybean ( Glycine max ), a species normally refractory to transformation. Chry5 is unable to utilize octopine or mannopine as a carbon source. Although Chry5 can catabolize a single isomer each of nopaline and succinamopine, it differs from other known nopaline and succinamopine strains in its insensitivity to agrocin 84. This pattern of opine catabolism is unique among Agrobacterium strains examined to date. All five isolates of Chry5 contain at least two plasmids, one of which shares homology with pTiB6.

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