Processing of the T-DNA of Agrobacterium tumefaciens generates border nicks and linear, single-stranded T-DNA.
Transfer and integration of a defined region (T-DNA) of the tumor-inducing (Ti) plasmid of Agrobacterium tumefaciens is essential for tumor formation. We used a physical assay to study structural changes induced in Agrobacterium T-DNA by cocultivation with plant cells. We show that nicks are introduced at unique, identical locations in each of the 24-base-pair imperfect direct repeats which flank the T-DNA and present evidence that a linear, single-stranded molecule is generated. We propose that these changes result from processing of the T-DNA for transfer and that they occur by a mechanism similar to DNA processing during conjugative DNA transfer between bacteria.
D002460:Cell Line; D004262:DNA Restriction Enzymes; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded / Q000235:genetics*; D010944:Plants / Q000382:microbiology; D010947:Plants, Toxic; D010957:Plasmids; D012231:Rhizobium / Q000235:genetics*; D014026:Nicotiana
D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded; C036483:T-DNA; D004262:DNA Restriction Enzymes