Agrobacterium fabrum is a widely used model bacterium for gene transfer from pro- to eukaryote, for genetics and metabolism. The phytochrome system of Agrobacterium, encompassing the two phytochromes Agp1 and Agp2, has provided deep insight into phytochrome action in a bacterial organism. This review summarizes recent results on phytochrome evolution, phytochrome regulation of conjugation and p...

Sections of hypocotyls, roots and leaves from Pentalinon andrieuxii plantlets were transiently transformed with Agrobacterium tumefaciens LBA4404 bearing the binary plasmid pCAMBIA2301 with an interrupted β-glucuronidase (GUS) gene. Histochemical GUS assays showed transient gene expression in all infected tissues, being older roots those which displayed the most intense GUS staining. To our kno...

Rhizobium radiobacter (Agrobacterium radiobacter) is an aerobic Gram-negative rod belonging to Agrobacterium genus, a group of phytopathogenic bacteria present in the soil that has been implicated in human opportunistic infections. We report a clinical case of bacterial peritonitis in a 5-year-old child with chronic renal disease in peritoneal dialysis, who had a history of direct soil contact ...

Flammulina velutipes was transformed efficiently by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation system. The transformation frequency was about 16% with the gill tissues of the fungal fruiting body. Southern hybridization and genetic analysis suggest that the introduced DNA was inserted onto different locations of the fungal genome, and inherited stably to the next generation via basidiospores. Transf...

Agrobacterium tumefaciens transfers a protein-DNA complex to plant cells in a process similar to bacterial conjugation; the mechanism of transfer is beginning to be unravelled by biochemical, genetic and electron microscopic studies.

A sensor protein ChvG is part of a chromosomally encoded two-component regulatory system ChvG/ChvI that is important for the virulence of Agrobacterium tumefaciens. However, it is not clear what genes ChvG regulates or what signal(s) it senses. In this communication, we demonstrate that ChvG is involved in the regulation of acid-inducible genes, including aopB and katA, residing on the circular...

For conjugation between prokaryotic Agrobacterium tumefaciens and eukaryotic Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we constructed two novel conjugative plasmids. A. tumefaciens transmitted the plasmids to S. cerevisiae with the aid of tra genes on a helper plasmid. The transmitted plasmids retained their original structure and function in transconjugant yeasts. The presence of Ti plasmid barely affected th...

Gametophore induction in moss by Agrobacterium tumefaciens was inhibited by addition of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from A. tumefaciens. The LPS did not affect bacterial viability or appear to bind to bacterial cells. LPS from nonbinding Agrobacterium radiobacter was not effective in reducing gametophore formation. A. tumefaciens LPS, if added 24 hours after addition of viable bacterial cells, had...