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. 1984 Dec 20;3(13):3043–3047. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1984.tb02255.x

The limited host range of an Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain extended by a cytokinin gene from a wide host range T-region

A Hoekema 1, BS de Pater 1, AJ Fellinger 1, PJJ Hooykaas 1, RA Schilperoort 1
PMCID: PMC557814  PMID: 16453586

Abstract

The host range of Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain LBA649 (pTiAg57) is limited to grapevine and a few other plant species. Its host range was extended through the introduction of the T-region from the wide host range octopine plasmid pTiAch5. In contrast, R prime plasmids harboring the entire wide host range virulence region were unable to achieve this effect. Via site-directed mutagenesis a search was performed to identify the T-DNA genes which were responsible for the observed host range extension. Inactivation of one of the onc-genes (the cyt gene) was found to abolish the capacity of the T-region to extend the host range of LBA649. Therefore, we cloned the cyt gene into a disarmed T-region plant vector and used it in complementation studies with pTiAg57 via the binary vector strategy. We show that the mere presence of the cyt gene from a wide host range Ti plasmid is sufficient to extend the host range of LBA649 to certain plants. We conclude that the limited host range of LBA649 is not caused by a lack of recognition of plants but is mainly due to the absence or inactivity of a cyt gene in the T-region of pTiAg57.

Keywords: Agrobacterium tumefaciens, host range, crown gall, cytokinin-gene, binary vector system

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Selected References

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