title: The Agrobacterium oncogene AB-6b causes a graft-transmissible enation syndrome in tobacco.
abstract: Agrobacterium 6b oncogenes induce tumours and modify plant growth in various ways. Here we show that the AB-6b gene from strain AB4 placed under 2x35S promoter control (2x35S-AB-6b) induces a complex enation syndrome in transgenic Nicotiana tabacum plants, that also occurs in a few rare cases of genetic enations. In Arabidopsis thaliana, 2x35S-AB-6b induced radially symmetrical tubes on the abaxial side of the leaves, which must therefore be considered as the Arabidopsis equivalents of enations on other plant species. Tobacco and Arabidopsis 2x35S-AB-6b leaves contained small, supernumerary densely packed cells between the spongy mesophyll and the abaxial epidermis, close to vascular strands arising at an early stage of leaf development. On tobacco, the 2x35S-AB-6b enation syndrome could be transmitted across graft junctions to growing tissues of untransformed plants, both acropetally and basipetally. We propose that the AB-6b gene encodes the synthesis of one or more enation factor(s) that are transported by the phloem and modify the growth of developing tissues.
authors.affiliation: Institut de Biologie Moléculaire des Plantes, CNRS UPR2357, Rue du Général Zimmer 12, 67084 Strasbourg, France.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Helfer
authors.forename: Bernadette
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Clément
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Michler
authors.forename: Léon
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Otten
mesh_terms: D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000235:genetics; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D002455:Cell Division / Q000235:genetics; D035264:Flowers / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000235:genetics; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D005822:Genetic Vectors / Q000235:genetics; D015513:Oncogene Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000235:genetics*; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000235:genetics; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D018749:RNA, Plant / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012231:Rhizobium / Q000235:genetics*; D014026:Nicotiana / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D015513:Oncogene Proteins; D018749:RNA, Plant