Agrobacterium tumefaciens Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
Agrobacterium tumefaciens is a species of bacteria that causes tumors (commonly known as 'galls' or 'crown galls') on a wide range of dicots. It does so by inserting a small segment of DNA (known as the T-DNA, for 'transfer DNA') into the plant cell. The T-DNA encodes genes for plant growth hormones, which cause the tumor, and genes for enzymes that create sugars which the bacteria can metabolize. The T-DNA inserts at a semi-random location in the host genome, and when the genes are expressed by the host, a tumor forms full of food for the bacteria.
The DNA transmission capabilities of Agrobacterium have been extensively exploited in biotechnology as a means of inserting foreign genes into plants. The mechanism by which Agrobacterium inserts materials into the host cell is very similar to mechanisms used by human pathogens to insert materials (usually proteins) into human cells, making a Agrobacterium an important subject of medical research as well.
Note that Agrobacterium is not the only or most common source of galls on plants. Many are caused by insect larvae that secrete plant growth hormones and have the same effect.
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