Fig. 6.

Effects of the ΔAP (Δ308-337) mutation on VirE2 release, DNA transfer, cell growth, and outer membrane integrity. (A) Effect of the ΔAP mutation on release of Flag-VirE2. Samples were prepared and analyzed as described for Fig. 1A. The ΔAP mutant strain displayed only slightly reduced levels of substrate transfer to plants, as monitored by virulence assays, and IncQ plasmid transfer to agrobacterial recipients. Strains: B10, PC1010 producing native VirB10; ΔAP, PC1010 producing VirB10Δ308-337. (B to E) As described in the Fig. 2 legend, showing that this partial ΔAP mutation did not confer diminished cell growth, enhanced sensitivity to vancomycin or SDS, or release of periplasmic RNase or ChvE. The partial ΔAP mutation disrupts polymerization of VirB2 into the T pilus (26).