Involvement of a plasmid in the hairy root disease of plants caused by Agrobacterium rhizogenes

Agrobacterium rhizogenes causes a proliferation of roots on plants that it infects. This is in contrast to Agrobacterium tumefaciens which causes gall or tumor formation on its hosts. A large molecular weight plasmid (1.1 × 10⁸) in A. rhizogenes strain A₄ is correlated with the infectivity of this organism. However, this plasmid apparently carries additional information not vital to the infection process. Experimental evidence supporting these conclusions is: (i) A. rhizogenes A₄loses infectivity when all or part of the plasmid is lost after treatment with ethidium bromide or after heating at 37 °C. (ii) There occurs successful conjugational transfer of the A₄ plasmid in planta to a noninfectious, antibiotic-resistant A. radiobacter. Infectious transconjugants were antibiotic resistant and contain a plasmid comparable to that of A. rhizogenes A₄. (iii) A. rhizogenes A₄ and the transconjugants possessed identical EcoR1 restriction endonuclease patterns, whereas three ethidium bromide-treated isolates that were noninfectious but plasmid containing had lost or gained bands in the pattern. The infectious plasmid of A. rhizogenes A₄ has been designated pHrA₄. Some potential benefits of the A. rhizogenes plasmid to agriculture are discussed.     

Hairy roots induced by Agrobacterium rhizogenes and production of regenerative plants in hairy root cultures in maize

Hairy roots of maize were induced by infecting 15-d calli with Agrobacterium rhizogenes. The hairy roots cultured in hormone-free media showed the vigorous growth and typical hairy root features. The regenerated plants were produced from hairy roots in MS media supplemented with 1.6 mg/L ZT and 0.4 mg/L NAA. The PCR-Southern hybridization demonstrated that T-DNA had been integrated into the chromosome of regenerated plants.     

Multiple mutations in the transferred regions of the Agrobacterium rhizogenes root-inducing plasmids

Agrobacterium rhizogenes induces root formation at the site of inoculation in plants and inserts fragments of its Ri plasmid into the plant nuclear DNA. The transferred region (T-DNA) of the Ri plasmid of the A. rhizogenes strain A4 is made of two fragments, namely TL and TR; the latter harbors a sequence homology with the tms loci (responsible for auxin synthesis) of A. tumefaciens. On Daucus carota slices, single insertion mutations on the TL region of A. rhizogenes do not confer a mutant phenotype while an insertion-deletion in the TR region do confer a Basatt phenotype. Six double mutants with a single insertion in the TL region and the same deletion-insertion of the TR region were constructed. Three of these double mutants were avirulent on D. carota which indicates that in A. rhizogenes A4 the TL and the TR regions cooperate to confer a full infectious phenotype.     

Transformation of Saussurea involucrata by Agrobacterium rhizogenes: Hairy root induction and syringin production

Agrobacterium rhizogenes-mediated genetic transformation of Saussurea involucrata was investigated. Four bacterial strains, A4, LBA 9402, R1000 and R1601 and three explant types, leaf blade, petiole and root, were examined. Over 100 hairy root lines were successfully established with strains R1601, R1000 and LBA9402, but none with A4. The highest transformation efficiency of 67% was achieved by using strain R1601 with root explants. One hairy root line isolated from this combination, HR1601-1, produced up to 43.5 ± 1.13 mg syringin g⁻¹ dw, which is about 50-fold higher than that in the wild type plants.Two other lines, HR1000-1 and HRLBA9402-1, isolated from R1000- and LBA9402-transformed roots, respectively, also displayed high capacity of syringin production, being 32.5 ± 3.08 and 39.7 ± 1.37 mg syringin g⁻¹ dw. These three lines were characterized in detail. Polymerase chain reaction analyses confirmed these root lines were of A. rhizogenes origin.     

蔗糖对发根农杆菌C58C1诱导烟草毛状根生长的影响北大核心CSCD

毛状根良好的生长状况是建立毛状根-AM真菌双重培养体系的关键,为优化毛状根培养基成分,确定适宜毛状根生长的蔗糖浓度,改善烟草毛状根的生长状况,该研究以发根农杆菌菌株C58C1诱导2个烟草品种NC82和Va116叶片产生毛状根,经PCR检测证实后,用含有不同蔗糖浓度的1/2MS培养基分别进行固体和液体优化培养,通过测定毛状根的分枝数、鲜重(FW)与干重(DW),研究蔗糖对2个品种烟草毛状根生长的影响。结果表明:(1)C58C1均能诱导两种烟草叶片产生毛状根,但诱导率不同,NC82(87.3%)的诱导率更高,是Va116(38.6%)的2.26倍。(2)培养基蔗糖浓度显著影响毛状根生长,因烟草品种和起始分枝数而异。(3)固体培养基优化培养NC82和Va116的毛状根,分枝数增长的抑制蔗糖浓度分别为25 g·L^(-1)和15 g·L^(-1);液体培养基优化培养分别在25 g·L^(-1)和15 g·L^(-1)时F(D)W达到最大,分别为0.541 g(0.055 g)、0.474 g(0.050 g)。(4)综合分枝数、F(D)W、毛状根生长势考虑,C58C1诱导NC82毛状根最适培养基蔗糖浓度为25 g·L^(-1),Va116毛状根为15 g·L^(-1)。该文优化了烟草毛状根培养基组成的适宜蔗糖浓度及培养方法,为后续毛状根大量扩繁奠定基础,建立了毛状根-AM真菌双重培养体系,解决了关键的寄主生长不良的问题。     

Wound-inducible and organ-specific expression of ORF13 from Agrobacterium rhizogenes 8196 T-DNA in transgenic tobacco plants

Tissue-specific expression of the ORF13 promoter from Agrobacterium rhizogenes 8196 was assessed throughout the development of transgenic tobacco plants using a GUS reporter gene. ORF13 exhibited high activity in roots but with different patterns of expression. The activity of the ORF13 promoter in vascular tissues increased from the base to the tip of the stem. The ORF13 promoter is wound inducible in a limited area adjacent to the wound site. The time course of wound induction of ORF13 in transgenic tobacco containing an ORF13 promoter-GUS translational fusion was similar to that previously described for genes involved in plant defense responses. A series of 5′ deletions of the ORF13 promoter fused to the β-glucuronidase gene was examined for expression in roots and leaves of transgenic plants. Cis-acting elements that modulate quantitative expression of the transgene after wounding were detected. Received: 11 July 1996 / Accepted: 19 November 1996     

4种发根农杆菌对朱砂根组培无菌叶片毛状根诱导的影响

以朱砂根(Ardisia crenata Sims)组培无菌叶片为材料,用4种发根农杆菌菌株(A4、ATCC15834、LBA9402和R1601)分别侵染进行毛状根诱导,比较朱砂根叶片毛状根诱导的最适培养基种类、预培养时间、侵染方式、共培养时间以及不同发根农杆菌的致根能力。研究表明:(1)朱砂根无菌叶片毛状根诱导最适培养基为1/2MS培养基,预培养2d、共培养2d,毛状根诱导率最高(31.87%)。(2)最佳侵染方式以剪好的幼叶和活化好的菌液(100mg/L AS)一起在28℃、180r/min黑暗条件下共振荡8~15min。(3)4种发根农杆菌均能诱导朱砂根叶片毛状根产生,但A4、ATCC15834效果最好,其致根能力大小顺序依次为ATCC15834A4LBA9402R1601。(4)PCR分子鉴定表明,发根农杆菌Ri质粒T-DNA已成功整合到宿主细胞核基因组中。     

Structure of T-DNA in plants regenerated from roots transformed by Agrobacterium rhizogenes strain A4

Summary The structure of the T-DNA in Ri-transformed plants of Brassica napus, Nicotiana plumbaginifolia and Nicotiana tabacum was analysed. All the plants studied present a particular phenotype with wrinkled leaves. The T-DNA is composed of two parts: TL and TR. The size of the TL-DNA (19–20 kb) seems to be almost constant, except in N. tabacum where it is shorter. The TR-DNA can be absent, and its size varies from about 5–28 kb, with two predominant lengths. The smaller size does not include the region homologous to the tms genes of the pTi T-DNA. The copy number varies from one to four copies per plant genome. TL and TR-DNA are not always present in the same copy number, but in some cases are linked together.     

Assembly of the VirB transport complex for DNA transfer from Agrobacterium tumefaciens to plant cells

The VirB transporter is a type IV secretion system that mediates the genetic transformation of plant cells by Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Assembly of this transporter depends on, first, formation of a VirB7/B9 complex that stabilizes many of the VirB proteins, second, formation of a virulence-specific pilus composed primarily of VirB2 and VirB5, and, third, post-translational processing of VirB1 and VirB2.     

3种农杆菌对茶树发状根诱导的影响

以茶树'福云6号'和'铁观音'成熟种子下胚轴、未成熟种子下胚轴和愈伤组织为材料,以发状根诱导率为指标,探究菌液浓度、农杆菌菌株、外植体类型和预培养时间对发状根诱导的影响.结果表明:(1)菌液浓度OD600在0.4～1.2范围内,'福云6号'成熟种子下胚轴发状根诱导率先升高后降低,ATCC15834在OD 600为0.6...     

Klebsiella pneumoniae nif-lac fusions are expressed in Agrobacterium tumefaciens C58

Summary Plasmids containing hybrid genes, in which different Klebsiella pneumoniae nif (nitrogen-fixation) promoters were fused with the structural part of the Escherichia coli lac operon, were introduced into a double auxotrophic derivative of Agrobacterium tumefaciens C58. A study of their expression in the new host was made simple by the inherent inability of A. tumefaciens C58 to produce -galactosidase unless provided with the wild-type lac operon of E. coli. As shown by quantitative measurements of the enzyme, all K. pneumoniae promoters were expressed well in A. tumefaciens C58, even under conditions known to repress them. It also has been shown that the activity of K. pneumoniae nif A is essential for the expression of nifHDK even when introduced into A. tumefaciens. After entering the new host the plasmids, the nif genes and the fusion alleles contained in them, remained stable. Possible mechanisms responsible for the constitutive behaviour of nif promoters in A. tumefaciens are discussed.     

The Agrobacterium rhizogenes pRi TL-DNA segment as a gene vector system for transformation of plants

Summary A plant gene transfer system was developed from the Agrobacterium rhizogenes pRi15834 TL-DNA region. Intermediate integration vectors constructed from ColE1-derived plasmids served as cloning vectors in Escherichia coli and formed cointegrates into the TL-DNA after transfer to A. rhizogenes. An A. rhizogenes strain with pBR322 plasmid sequences replacing part of the TL-DNA was also constructed. Plasmids unable to replicate in Agrobacterium can integrate into this TL-DNA by homologous recombination through pBR322 sequences. No loss of pathogenicity was observed with the strains formed after integration of intermediate vectors or strains carrying pBR322 in the TL-DNA segment. Up to 15 kb of DNA have been transferred to plant cells with these systems. The T-DNA from a binary vector was cotransformed into hairy roots which developed after transfer of the wild-type pRi T-DNA. Tested on Lotus corniculatus the TL-derived vector system transformed 90% of the developed roots and the T-DNA from the binary vector was cotransformed into 60% of the roots. Minimum copy numbers of one to five were found. Both constitutive and organ-specific plant genes were faithfully expressed after transfer to the legume L. corniculatus.     

Expression of transferred genes during hairy root development in pea

Root border cell development and expression of reporter genes were evaluated in transgenic pea hairy roots. Successful induction of hairy roots in pea is conditioned by bacterial strain and plant genotype, as well as by developmental and environmental factors. Morphological changes sometimes occur when hairy roots are transferred from infected plants to tissue culture media, but such changes are confined to specific clones. Expression of reporter genes under the control of promoters from bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) stress genes encoding phenylalanine ammonia lyase and chalcone synthase were evaluated. Expression patterns vary between hairy roots taken directly from infected plants, and those grown in culture; most hairy roots taken from infected plants exhibit expression throughout all tissues, whereas expression in cultured hairy roots is most often localized to specific tissues. Patterns of expression that occur during different stages of hairy root development are very similar to those observed in transgenic plants expressing the same fusion genes. Border cell separation and release in hairy roots is normal, and expression of glucuronidase in border cells of some transgenic roots resulted in development of bright blue single cells. Cultured hairy roots should provide a very useful model for studying the effect of defined changes in root border cells on microbial associations with roots of this important legume.Abbreviations YEM yeast extract-mannitol - GUS glucuronidase - PAL phenylalanine ammonium lyase - CHS chalcone syntase     

Changes in flowering and the accumulation of polyamines and hydroxycinnamic acid-polyamine conjugates in tobacco plants transformed by the rolA locus from the Ri TL-DNA of Agrobacterium rhizogenes

Tobacco plants containing rolA (root locus A) from the Ri TL-DNA (root-inducing, left-hand, transferred DNA) from Agrobacterium rhizogenes have an altered phenotype, including male sterility, abnormal flower morphology, wrinkled leaves and shortened internodes. This phenotype is unstable, reverting to an attenuated form in lateral branches. We show that the pleiotropic effects of rolA are correlated with inhibition of the accumulation of conjugates between polyamines and the hydroxycinnamic acids. The compounds associated with male fertility are primarily affected, particularly the feruloyl derivatives.     

Agrobacterium rhizogenes-mediated transformation of Superroot-derived Lotus corniculatus plants: a valuable tool for functional genomics

Background  

Transgenic approaches provide a powerful tool for gene function investigations in plants. However, some legumes are still recalcitrant to current transformation technologies, limiting the extent to which functional genomic studies can be performed on. Superroot of Lotus corniculatus is a continuous root cloning system allowing direct somatic embryogenesis and mass regeneration of plants. Recently, a technique to obtain transgenic L. corniculatus plants from Superroot-derived leaves through A. tumefaciens-mediated transformation was described. However, transformation efficiency was low and it took about six months from gene transfer to PCR identification.     

DNA sequences homologous to the T DNA region of Agrobacterium tumefaciens are present in diverse Rhizobium species

Summary DNA sequences homologous to the T DNA region of the octopine-type Ti plasmid from Agrobacterium tumefaciens are present in different Rhizobium species. Plasmid DNA from each of two R. leguminosarum, two R. meliloti, and four slow-growing Rhizobium strains examined contain restriction endonuclease fragments that hybridize with the T DNA region, or with DNA sequences at or near the adjacent Ti plasmid transfer (ra) region. Four different BamHI fragments that contain homology to the T DNA region were cloned from R. leguminosarum 300 plasmid DNA. Cloned fragments of 5.9 kb and 10.3 kb hybridize to each other and are homologous to sequences which map at the right boundary region (EcoRI fragment 24) of the core T DNA. Ti plasmid sequences homologous to those present in cloned fragments of 10.9 kb and 2.0 kb map in adjacent fragments near the tra genes, approximately 10 kb to the right of the core T DNA.     

A chemotaxis cluster from Agrobacterium tumefaciens

We report the DNA sequence of a 9.6-kb region of the Agrobacterium tumefaciens chromosome containing a putative 8-kb chemotaxis operon. The putative operon begins with orf1, whose predicted protein product shows strong sequence identity to methyl-accepting chemotaxis proteins (MCPs), followed by orf2, cheY1, cheA, cheR, cheB, cheY2, orf9, orf10. All of the identified homologues show a high degree of sequence conservation with their counterparts in the che operons from Sinorhizobium meliloti and Rhodobacter sphaeroides, and are arranged in a similar order. Mutations in orf1 and cheA result in impaired chemotaxis, whereas deletion of orf10, appears to have no effect on chemotaxis or motility. Although the putative operon does not contain a cheW homologue, heterologous probing and PCR using consensus primers indicates that cheW maps elsewhere in the Agrobacterium genome.     

Localization and restriction maps of the replication origin regions of the plasmids of Agrobacterium rhizogenes strain A4

Summary Banks of cosmids of the plasmids of the agropine-type Agrobacterium rhizogenes strain A₄ were used to transform Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain C58C1, which lacks a Ti plasmid. Hybrid cosmids able to be maintained in this strain were subcloned to localize precisely the origin of replication regions. These regions were mapped with restriction enzymes and compared by hybridization with those of Agrobacterium tumefaciens nopaline pTiC58 and octopine pTiAch5. This led to the characterization of three new plasmids suitable as cloning vectors in Escherichia coli and A. tumefaciens. They are compatible with pTi and pAt plasmids of A. tumefaciens and are maintained stably, even without selection pressure.