page_title: Agrobacterium
section_title: Plant pathogen
hierarchical_section_title: Agrobacterium / Plant pathogen
caption_attribution_description: Agrobacterium tumefaciens gall at the root of Carya illinoensis
context_page_description: Agrobacterium is a genus of Gram-negative bacteria established by H. J. Conn that uses horizontal gene transfer to cause tumors in plants. Agrobacterium tumefaciens is the most commonly studied species in this genus. Agrobacterium is well known for its ability to transfer DNA between itself and plants, and for this reason it has become an important tool for genetic engineering.
  The genus Agrobacterium is quite heterogeneous. Recent taxonomic studies have reclassified all of the Agrobacterium species into new genera, such as Ahrensia, Pseudorhodobacter, Ruegeria, and Stappia, but most species have been controversially reclassified as Rhizobium species.
context_section_description: Agrobacterium tumefaciens causes crown-gall disease in plants. The disease is characterised by a tumour-like growth or gall on the infected plant, often at the junction between the root and the shoot. Tumors are incited by the conjugative transfer of a DNA segment (T-DNA) from the bacterial tumour-inducing (Ti) plasmid. The closely related species, Agrobacterium rhizogenes, induces root tumors, and carries the distinct Ri (root-inducing) plasmid. Although the taxonomy of Agrobacterium is currently under revision it can be generalised that 3 biovars exist within the genus, Agrobacterium tumefaciens, Agrobacterium rhizogenes, and Agrobacterium vitis. Strains within Agrobacterium tumefaciens and Agrobacterium rhizogenes are known to be able to harbour either a Ti or Ri-plasmid, whilst strains of Agrobacterium vitis, generally restricted to grapevines, can harbour a Ti-plasmid. Non-Agrobacterium strains have been isolated from environmental samples which harbour a Ri-plasmid whilst laboratory studies have shown that non-Agrobacterium strains can also harbour a Ti-plasmid. Some environmental strains of Agrobacterium possess neither a Ti nor Ri-plasmid. These strains are avirulent.
  The plasmid T-DNA is integrated semi-randomly into the genome of the host cell, and the tumor morphology genes on the T-DNA are expressed, causing the formation of a gall. The T-DNA carries genes for the biosynthetic enzymes for the production of unusual amino acids, typically octopine or nopaline. It also carries genes for the biosynthesis of the plant hormones, auxin and cytokinins, and for the biosynthesis of opines, providing a carbon and nitrogen source for the bacteria that most other micro-organisms can't use, giving Agrobacterium a selective advantage. By altering the hormone balance in the plant cell, the division of those cells cannot be controlled by the plant, and tumors form. The ratio of auxin to cytokinin produced by the tumor genes determines the morphology of the tumor (root-like, disorganized or shoot-like).
caption: The large growths on these roots are galls induced by Agrobacterium sp.
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