title: Characterization and distribution of tartrate utilization genes in the grapevine pathogen Agrobacterium vitis.
abstract: Agrobacterium vitis is a common pathogen of grapevine. Most strains utilize tartrate, an abundant compound in grapevine. Strain AB3 carries two tartrate utilization (or TAR) regions: TAR-I (on the large pTrAB3 plasmid) and TAR-II (on the AB3 Ti plasmid). TAR-I and TAR-II were structurally and functionally analyzed and are similar to the TAR-III region from the tartrate utilization plasmid pTrAB4 of the nopaline-type A. vitis strain AB4 (Crouzet and Otten, J. Bacteriol. 1995, 177:6518-6526). The minimal tartrate utilization region of TAR-I contains four genes (ttuA-ttuD). The ttuC gene is homologous to the tartrate dehydrogenase gene from Pseudomonas putida. Outside the minimal region a second ttuC-like gene is found (ttuC') which is transcribed and complements a ttuC mutant. Most grapevine isolates carry one or two of the three characterized TAR regions and show a considerable degree of polymorphism around these regions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Phytopathology, Plant Molecular Biology Institute of the C.N.R.S., Strasbourg, France.
authors.forename: J Y
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Salomone
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Crouzet
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: De Ruffray
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Otten
mesh_terms: D004252:DNA Mutational Analysis; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry; D005638:Fruit / Q000382:microbiology; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016254:Mutagenesis, Insertional; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D010935:Plant Diseases; D010957:Plasmids; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D012231:Rhizobium / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D013644:Tartrates / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D013644:Tartrates