Systemic movement of Agrobacterium tumefaciens in several plant species

AIMS: The systemic movement of Agrobacterium spp. inside plants of different species was studied to determine the most valuable diagnostic methodology for their detection. METHODS AND RESULTS: Pathogenic agrobacteria were detected by isolation and PCR in tissue away from primary tumours in tomato plants grown in the presence of Agrobacterium spp. Moreover, this bacterium was also able to induce secondary tumours beyond the inoculation site. In addition, the capacity of agrobacteria to translocate and induce secondary tumours was analysed in rose, grapevine, chrysanthemum, cherry and peach x almond hybrid GF677. No differences among strains of Agrobacterium spp. were detected in secondary tumour development, although some of them induced a significantly higher number of primary tumours in some species. Movement of inoculated pathogenic cells of four strains was also demonstrated in symptomless portions of the plant stems by isolation and PCR. Finally, pathogenic agrobacteria were detected in root, crown and stem portions of naturally infected walnuts. In all assays, PCR was the most efficient technique for detecting the movement of Agrobacterium spp. within the plants. CONCLUSIONS: Migration of agrobacteria inside plants is a complex phenomenon and more extensive than previously reported. Therefore, efficient and sensitive detection methods such as PCR must be used to select clean plants to avoid latent infections of Agrobacterium spp. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: The results show that migration of Agrobacterium spp. could be relatively frequent in several cultivated fruit trees, and systemic infections should be taken into account when designing strategies for controlling crown gall disease.     

Detection of Pseudomonas savastanoi pv. savastanoi in olive plants by enrichment and PCR

The sequence of the gene iaaL of Pseudomonas savastanoi EW2009 was used to design primers for PCR amplification. The iaaL-derived primers directed the amplification of a 454-bp fragment from genomic DNA isolated from 70 strains of P. savastanoi, whereas genomic DNA from 93 non-P. savastanoi isolates did not yield this amplified product. A previous bacterial enrichment in the semiselective liquid medium PVF-1 improved the PCR sensitivity level, allowing detection of 10 to 100 CFU/ml of plant extract. P. savastanoi was detected by the developed enrichment-PCR method in knots from different varieties of inoculated and naturally infected olive trees. Moreover, P. savastanoi was detected in symptomless stem tissues from naturally infected olive plants. This enrichment-PCR method is more sensitive and less cumbersome than the conventional isolation methods for detection of P. savastanoi.     

Agrobacterium strain specificity and shooty tumour formation in eucalypt (Eucalyptus grandis ×E. urophylla)

Summary To develop a successful protocol forAgrobacterium-mediated transformation in plants it is essential to determine the most efficient bacterial strain/plant genotype interaction. In the present work, we evaluated the susceptibility ofEucalyptus grandis ×E. urophylla to fiveAgrobacterium rhizogenes and twelveA. tumefaciens wildtype strains. The results showed different degrees of virulence, according to the strain tested, indicating that transformation of this eucalypt hybrid by Agrobacterium-derived vectors is possible. All developed tumours showed an autonomous growth when transferred to a hormone-free medium. Some of these tumours formed shoots spontaneously, with a normal phenotype. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and Southern blot analyses were performed to confirm the absence of the oncogenic T-DNA in plants derived from these shooty tumours.     

Unwounded plants elicit Agrobacterium vir gene induction and T-DNA transfer: transformed plant cells produce opines yet are tumour free

Agrobacterium tumefaciens is well known to cause crown gall tumours at plant wound sites and to benefit from this plant association by obtaining nutrients called opines that are produced by these tumours. Tumourigenesis requires expression of the vir regulon in response to chemical signals that are thought to be released from wound sites. Here, we examine chemical interactions between A. tumefaciens and unwounded plants. To determine whether unwounded plants can release significant amounts of vir gene inducers, we constructed an A. tumefaciens strain carrying a PvirB-gfp fusion. This fusion was strongly induced by co-culture with tobacco seedlings that have been germinated without any intentional wounding. The release of phenolic vir gene inducers was confirmed by GC/MS analysis. We also constructed a strain containing the gfp reporter located on an artificial T-DNA and expressed from a plant promoter. A. tumefaciens efficiently transferred this T-DNA into cells of unwounded plants in the absence of exogenous vir gene inducers. Many cells of seedlings colonized by the bacteria also produced octopine, which was detected using a Pocc-gfp reporter strain. This indicates transfer of the native T-DNA. However, these transformed plant cells did not form tumours. These results suggest that successful colonization of plants by A. tumefaciens, including T-DNA transfer and opine production, does not require wounding and does not necessarily cause cell proliferation. Transformation of plant cells without inciting tumours may represent a colonization strategy for this pathogen that has largely been overlooked.     

Development of Delivery Systems for Introducing Endophytic Bacteria into Cotton

Experiments were designed to evaluate the effectiveness of several methods for delivering 15 endophytic bacteria into cotton stem and root tissues. The delivery methods included stab-inoculation of bacteria into stems, soaking seeds in bacterial suspensions, methyl cellulose seed coating, foliar spray, bacteria-impregnated granules applied in-furrow, vacuum infiltration and pruned-root dip. The success of delivery was gaged by recovery of the bacteria from internal plant tissues 2 weeks after the plants had been grown in a glasshouse potting mix. Following stab-inoculation into stems or radicles, 10 of the bacterial endophytes which previously exhibited biological control against fusarium wilt of cotton were successfully re-isolated from 50% of the plants inoculated; however, this method was labor-intensive, involved wounding the plant and sometimes reduced plant growth. Four of the other methods established from six to eight of the 15 strains, and, with some strains, all methods effectively established endophytic bacteria, based on re-isolation of strains from internal tissues 2 weeks after inoculation. A method was developed which allowed more convenient isolation of endophytes from a large number of plants. The results suggest that introduction of beneficial endophytic strains into cotton plants could be accomplished by practical methods chosen specifically for each strain.     

Experimental inoculation of Terminalia catappa seedlings with an environmental isolate of Cryptococcus neoformans var. gattii serotype C

In 1997, our laboratory reported for the first time the isolation of Cryptococcus neoformans var. gattii serotype C associated with almond tree (Terminalia catappa) detritus. This finding led to a more detailed follow up of the association between the plant and the yeast. Preliminary data have shown that survival of the yeast in almond trees seedlings goes beyond 100 days. The aim of the present study was to establish if under the conditions previously studied, C. neoformans var. gattii would remain viable for longer periods. A total of 83 almond tree seedings, 20-40 cm high, were inoculated with C. neoformans var. gattii serotype C (INS-755). Assays were carried out inoculating the stem or the soil where the seedlings were planted. Observations were undertaken for a period of up to 12 months. As processing techniques we employed the endophytic fungi procedure (stems), maceration (roots, leaves) and standard suspension method (soils). Additionally, microscopic visualization of the yeast in plant tissues was done with trypan blue plus lactophenol. C. neoformans var. gattii was recovered from the inoculated plants for a period of up to 12 months post-inoculation; additionally, the fungus had the capacity to migrate from the stem to the soil and viceversa, without causing macroscopic or microscopic alterations in the plant tissues. This finding suggests that there appears to be an association between the host plant and C. neoformans var. gattii in the environment.     

An Agrobacterium catalase is a virulence factor involved in tumorigenesis

Most plant pathogenic bacteria adopt the type III secretion systems to secrete virulence factors and/or avirulence gene products, which trigger the plant hypersensitive response (HR) and the oxidative burst with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) as the main component. However, the soil-borne plant pathogen Agrobacterium tumefaciens uses the type IV secretion pathway to deliver its oncogenic T-DNA that causes crown gall tumours on many plant species. A. tumefaciens does not elicit a typical HR on those plants. Here, we report that inactivation of one of A. tumefaciens catalases (which converts H2O2 to H2O and O2) by a transposon insertion highly attenuated the bacterial ability to cause tumours on plants and to tolerate H2O2 toxicity, but not the bacterial viability in the absence of exogenous H2O2. This provides the first genetic evidence that the Agrobacterium-plant interaction involves a plant defence response, such as H2O2 production, and that catalase is a virulence factor for a plant pathogen.     

Detection of Pseudomonas savastanoi pv. savastanoi in Olive Plants by Enrichment and PCR

The sequence of the gene iaaL of Pseudomonas savastanoi EW2009 was used to design primers for PCR amplification. The iaaL-derived primers directed the amplification of a 454-bp fragment from genomic DNA isolated from 70 strains of P. savastanoi, whereas genomic DNA from 93 non-P. savastanoi isolates did not yield this amplified product. A previous bacterial enrichment in the semiselective liquid medium PVF-1 improved the PCR sensitivity level, allowing detection of 10 to 100 CFU/ml of plant extract. P. savastanoi was detected by the developed enrichment-PCR method in knots from different varieties of inoculated and naturally infected olive trees. Moreover, P. savastanoi was detected in symptomless stem tissues from naturally infected olive plants. This enrichment-PCR method is more sensitive and less cumbersome than the conventional isolation methods for detection of P. savastanoi.     

抗冻蛋白(afp)基因表达载体的构建及对香蕉胚性细胞悬浮系的转化

通过PCR从‘京都七寸人参'胡萝卜基因组DNA中扩增抗冻蛋白基因,测序结果表明该基因的核苷酸序列与从宁夏‘吴忠'胡萝卜中克隆的完全一致。先后将获得的胡萝卜afp基因克隆和亚克隆至pMD18-T和pBI121,构建植物表达载体pBI121-afp。通过冻融法将pBI121-afp导入根癌农杆菌EHA105中。以香蕉栽培品种‘北大矮蕉'的胚性细胞悬浮系为受体,采用农杆菌介导法将胡萝卜afp基因导入其中,然后在Kanamycin的选择压力下通过体细胞胚发生途径进行植株再生。共获得抗性再生植株9株,其中两株经PCR检测呈阳性,可初步确定目的基因已经整合到这两株转基因香蕉植株的基因组中。     

Comparison of benefit to sugarcane plant growth and 15N2 incorporation following inoculation of sterile plants with Acetobacter diazotrophicus wild-type and Nif- mutants strains

The ability of the nitrogen-fixing bacterial endophyte Acetobacter diazotrophicus strain PAl5 to enhance the growth of sugarcane SP70-1143 was evaluated in the growth chamber, greenhouse, and field by comparing plants inoculated with wild-type and Nif mutant MAd3A in two independent experiments. The wild-type and Nif mutant strains colonized sugarcane plants equally and persisted in mature plants. In N-deficient conditions, sugarcane plants inoculated with A. diazotrophicus PAl5 generally grew better and had a higher total N content 60 days after planting than did plants inoculated with mutant MAd3A or uninoculated plants. These results indicate that the transfer of fixed N from A. diazotrophicus to sugarcane might be a significant mechanism for plant growth promotion in this association. When N was not limiting, growth enhancement was observed in plants inoculated with either wild-type or Nif- mutants, suggesting the additional effect of a plant growth promoting factor provided by A. diazotrophicus. A 15N2 incorporation experiment demonstrated that A. diazotrophicus wild-type strains actively fixed N2 inside sugarcane plants, whereas the Nif- mutants did not.     

Seasonal Behavior of Xylella fastidiosa Causing Almond Leafscorch Disease under Field Conditions and Improved Detection of the Bacteria by Means of Array-PCR

Almond leaf scorch disease (ALSD) caused by Xylella fastidiosa is potentially a serious threat to the almond industry in San Joaquin Valley of California. Knowledge of X. fastidiosa behaviour in the plant host under field conditions is important for disease control and this issue is being addressed in this project. Occurrence of ALSD is strongly influenced by environmental factors. In 2006, the earliest leaf scorching symptoms were observed in June, whereas in 2007, the earliest occurrence of leaf scorching symptoms was in July, a delay of 1 month. In both years, PCR detected X. fastidiosa 1 month before of symptom expression. PCR was slightly more sensitive than cultivation method for early bacterial detection. However, uneven bacterial distribution and random sampling errors may have contributed to the differences among the assays. Correlation between cultivation and PCR detection was greater than 90%. During the processing of a large number of samples, we noticed occasional failures in PCR amplifications of some samples, interfering result interpretation. We developed an array-PCR protocol using primers from seven housekeeping genes to correct the deficiency.     

Regeneration and Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of chrysanthemum

A method has been developed to regenerate shoots directly from leaf pieces of the autumn flowering chrysanthemum Dendranthema indicum (L.) Des Moul (genotype Korean). Transgenic plants of this genotype were generated using transformation mediated by the disarmed strain of Agrobacterium tumefaciens LBA4404, containing either pKIWI110 or pGA643. Both pKIWI110 and pGA643 contain the selectable marker gene neomycin phosphotransferase II (NPTII) and pKIWI110 also contains the reporter gene -D-glucuronidase. Leaf pieces inoculated with pKIWI110 produced zones of blue cells two days after inoculation. Shoots from leaf pieces inoculated with pGA643 were selected on kanamycin. PCR and Southern analysis of shoots that were able to root on kanamycin confirmed the presence of the NPTII gene in the plant genome.     

Crown Gall on Castor Bean Leaves: II. FORMATION OF SECONDARY TUMOURS

Secondary tumours were formed on the cotyledonary leaf petiole,the hypocotyl, and first true leaf of castor bean seedlingsafter inoculating the blades of the cotyledonary leaves withAgrobacterium tumefaciens. Depending on the strain of bacteriaemployed, 0 to 80 per cent of the plants developed secondarytumours. The ability of different strains to initiate secondarytumours was not obviously correlated with their relative effectivenessin initiating primary tumours. Though all produced primary tumours,five out of ten auxotrophic strains failed to yield secondarytumours, whereas only one out of 14 prototrophic strains failedto do so. Both the number of plants developing secondary tumoursand the frequency with which these tumours occurred on differentparts of the plant were positively correlated with the concentrationof the primary inoculum. Tumours also developed on the cotyledonaryleaf petiole and on the hypocotyl after vacuum infiltrationof A. tumefaciens into the blade of cotyledonary leaves. Inmost instances (9 out of 11 plants) no tumours were formed onthe blade of the infiltrated leaf. Thus, tumour formation equivalentto secondary tumours can occur in the absence of a primary tumouror an overt primary wound. Excision of inoculated leaves showedthat the stimulus for secondary tumour formation moves fromthe blade to the hypocotyl within 24 h. Attempts to demonstratethe presence of a sub-cellular tumour-initiating agent in homogenatesof inoculated leaves were unsuccessful. A. tumefaciens, however,was found in the petiole of the cotyledonary leaf and in thehypocotyl within 24 h of inoculation. The migrating agent responsiblefor secondary tumour formation in castor beans is concludedto be intact bacteria.     

An efficient Agrobacterium-mediated transient transformation of Arabidopsis

Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transient transformation has been a useful procedure for characterization of proteins and their functions in plants, including analysis of protein-protein interactions. Agrobacterium-mediated transient transformation of Nicotiana benthamiana by leaf infiltration has been widely used due to its ease and high efficiency. However, in Arabidopsis this procedure has been challenging. Previous studies suggested that this difficulty was caused by plant immune responses triggered by perception of Agrobacterium. Here, we report a simple and robust method for Agrobacterium-mediated transient transformation in Arabidopsis. AvrPto is an effector protein from the bacterial plant pathogen Pseudomonas syringae that suppresses plant immunity by interfering with plant immune receptors. We used transgenic Arabidopsis plants that conditionally express AvrPto under the control of a dexamethasone (DEX)-inducible promoter. When the transgenic plants were pretreated with DEX prior to infection with Agrobacterium carrying a β-glucuronidase (GUS, uidA) gene with an artificial intron and driven by the CaMV 35S promoter, transient GUS expression was dramatically enhanced compared to that in mock-pretreated plants. This transient expression system was successfully applied to analysis of the subcellular localization of a cyan fluorescent protein (CFP) fusion and a protein-protein interaction in Arabidopsis. Our findings enable efficient use of Agrobacterium-mediated transient transformation in Arabidopsis thaliana.     

AtNHX1基因对草木樨状黄芪的转化和耐盐性表达研究

应用RT-PCR技术从100mmol/LNaCl胁迫处理的拟南芥幼中克隆得到编码液泡膜Na /H 逆向转运蛋白的AtNHX1基因cDNA 编码ORF.并在该ORF上游分别插入CaMV 35启动子和TMV RNA5'UTR的Ω片段,而在下游插入NOS polyA构建真核表达盒,进而将该表达盒插入双元植物表达栽体pNT质粒的T-DNA区构建了携带AtNHX1 基因的植物表达载体质粒pNT-AtNHX1.将pNT-AtNHX1 导入农杆菌LBA4404,用农杆菌介导法将AtNHX1 基因导入豆科牧草草木樨状黄芪中,共获得103株Kan抗性再生植株.通过对农杆菌茵液浓度、侵染时间和乙酰丁香酮浓度等影响转化效率的因素进行优化,初步建立了稳定的草木樨状黄芪农杆菌转化体系.经过PCR检测、Southern杂交和RT-PCR检测表明,AtNHX1 基因已被成功整合到草木樨状黄芪基因组中,并且能够正常转录.野生型和转基因株系诱发的愈伤组织进行耐盐生长实验,结果显示相同盐胁迫条件下,转基因愈伤组织的相对生长率显著高于野生型愈伤组织.施加梯度NaCl胁迫后,植株叶片K ,Na 含量和叶片相对电导率测定结果显示,转基因植物叶片比野生型积累更多的Na 和K ,维持较高的K /Na ;转基因株系叶片相对电导率显著低于野生型.上述结果表明,AtNHX1 基因的导入和表达在提高草木樨状黄芪耐盐性的同时减轻了盐胁迫对植物细胞膜的伤害.关键词: AtNHX1 草木樨状黄芪农杆菌遗传转化耐盐性.     

含幽门螺杆菌CagA、UreB蛋白与霍乱肠毒素B亚单位（CTB）融合基因的植物表达载体的构建及遗传转化

幽门螺旋杆菌(Helicobacter pylori,Hp)感染是慢性胃炎和消化性溃疡的主要病因,与胃癌和胃粘膜相关淋巴组织(MALT)淋巴瘤的发生也密切相关。目前所用的疫苗制造成本高、运输费用贵,然而利用转基因植物生产的植物疫苗成本低廉、服用方便是现有疫苗的良好替代品。将Hp相关蛋白与免疫佐剂CTB的融合基因(ctb-linker-cagA和ctb-linker-ureB)利用PCR、酶切、连接等一系列方法从载体p1300-WxCLCN和p1300-WxCLUN中重组到载体pCAMBIA2301中(含35S启动子),重组载体分别命名为p2301-35SCLCN和p2301-35SCLUN。通过冻融法将载体导入农杆菌EHA105菌株中,以农杆菌介导的方法,将重组载体p2301-35SCLCN和p2301-35SCLUN转化烟草黄苗榆和心叶烟,获得了具有卡那霉素抗性再生植株,经过酶切、PCR、GUS染色和PCR-Southern鉴定结果表明,目的基因分别正确插入载体中并稳定整合到植株中,为利用植物反应器生产幽门螺杆菌疫苗奠定了坚实的基础。     

Biological Control of Crown Gall: Seed and Root Inoculation

S ummary . Experiments on the control of crown gall by inoculating susceptible plants with a non-pathogenic strain of Agrobacterium radiobacter have continued. In all experiments, highly significant disease control was achieved. In one experiment, 42% of untreated plants growing in soil heavily infested with A. radiobacter var. tumefaciens died; inoculation of seed with the non-pathogenic strain reduced this to nil. Combined seed and root inoculation was more efficient than seed inoculation alone. In naturally infested soil, combined seed and root inoculation at transplanting gave 99% control of gall formation (as dry weight). A significant increase in plant growth resulted from combined seed and root inoculation. At transplanting, roots should probably be inoculated within 2 h of lifting. This method of biological control is now widely practised by commercial growers in South Australia.     

Detection of bacterial chitinase activity in transformed plant tumour cells using a specific exochitinase substrate

Methods for the detection of bacterial chitinase activity were compared. The soluble substrate p-nitrophenyl-ß-D-N,N diacetyl chitobiose (NDC) was more sensitive in detecting purified chitinase of Serratia marcescens than assays measuring degradation of a solid chitin substrate by either radiochemical or colorimetric means. A chimaeric gene containing a S. marcescens chitinase gene under control of a Cauliflower Mosaic Virus 35S promoter and nopaline synthase terminator sequences was constructed and transferred to tobacco tumour cells using Agrobacterium tumefaciens as a vector. The rate of hydrolysis of the NDC substrate was three fold greater with cell extracts of both pooled and individual tumours carrying the chimaeric chitinase gene than in control tumours. It was calculated from the enzyme activity data that the foreign bacterial chitinase contributed 0.1% of the total soluble protein in transformed plant cells. This level of expression of this gene was not detectable using the less sensitive assays employing solid chitin substrate. These results indicate that NDC is a preferable substrate for assaying bacterial chitinase in transformed plant cells.     

Development of a simple and efficient method for transformation of buckwheat plants (Fagopyrum esculentum) using Agrobacterium tumefaciens

Apical meristems of seedlings of buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum var. Shinano No. 1) were pricked with a needle and inoculated with Agrobacterium tumefaciens (LBA4404, pBI121). The inoculated seedlings were grown to maturation and allowed to pollinate randomly to set the seeds (T1 plants). The transformation efficiency of the T1 plants was estimated by germination in the presence of geneticin (20 microg/ml) and by detection of beta-glucuronidase (GUS) gene with PCR, indicating that 36% and 70% of the T1 plants were transformed, respectively. Four plants taking on a mutated morphology were selected from T1 plants which were transformed with the method using A. tumefaciens harboring a modified pBI121 for plasmid rescue. Southern blot analysis of plasmids rescued from the 4 T1 plants demonstrated that each plasmid contained a different flanking DNA of the buckwheat genome, an evidence that T-DNA was integrated in different sites of the genomic DNA among the 4 T1 plants.