FIG 2.

Comparison between T-DNA transfer efficiencies mediated by vir genes from R. etli/p42a or A. tumefaciens C58/pTiC58 in the A. tumefaciens background. N. benthamiana leaves were infiltrated with A. tumefaciens C58NT1, A. tumefaciens C58NT1 carrying R. etli p42a, and wild-type A. tumefaciens strain C58 carrying pTiC58. All bacterial strains also harbored the pCB302T-GFP reporter plasmid. (A) Representative confocal images of the infiltrated leaf areas. Green, GFP; red, plastid autofluorescence. All images are single confocal sections. Bars = 100 μm. (B) Efficiency of T-DNA transfer estimated by scoring the number of GFP-expressing cells per leaf surface area. All data represent average values from three independent experiments with the indicated standard deviations. Asterisks indicate the statistical significance (**, P < 0.01) of the difference between experimental and control data, as determined by the two-tailed Student's t test.