title: Association of the virD2 protein with the 5' end of T strands in Agrobacterium tumefaciens.
abstract: The soil bacterium Agrobacterium tumefaciens can incite tumors in many dicotyledonous plants by transferring a portion (T-DNA) of its Ti plasmid into susceptible plant cells. The T-DNA is flanked by border sequences that serve as recognition sites for specific cleavage by an endonuclease that comprises two virD-encoded proteins (VirD1 and VirD2). After cleavage, both double-stranded, nicked T-DNA molecules and single-stranded T-DNA molecules (T strands) were present. We have determined that a protein is tightly associated with, and probably covalently attached to, the 5' end of the T strands. Analysis of deletion derivatives in Escherichia coli, immunoprecipitation, and a procedure combining immunoblot and nucleic acid hybridization data identified this protein as the gene product of virD2.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, University of Washington, Seattle 98195.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Young
authors.forename: E W
authors.initials: EW
authors.lastname: Nester
mesh_terms: D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded / Q000235:genetics; D007118:Immunoassay; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization; D010941:Plant Tumors / Q000382:microbiology*; D010957:Plasmids; D012231:Rhizobium / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded