Agrobacterium proteins VirD2 and VirE2 mediate precise integration of synthetic T-DNA complexes in mammalian cells.
Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated plant transformation, a unique example of interkingdom gene transfer, has been widely adopted for the generation of transgenic plants. In vitro synthesized transferred DNA (T-DNA) complexes comprising single-stranded DNA and Agrobacterium virulence proteins VirD2 and VirE2, essential for plant transformation, were used to stably transfect HeLa cells. Both proteins positively influenced efficiency and precision of transgene integration by increasing overall transformation rates and by promoting full-length single-copy integration events. These findings demonstrate that the virulence proteins are sufficient for the integration of a T-DNA into a eukaryotic genome in the absence of other bacterial or plant factors. Synthetic T-DNA complexes are therefore unique protein:DNA delivery vectors with potential applications in the field of mammalian transgenesis.
Pelczar
Pawel
P
Friedrich Miescher-Institut for Biomedical Research, Maulbeerstrasse 66, 4058 Basel, Switzerland. pelczar@fmi.ch
Kalck
Véronique
V
Gomez
Divina
D
Hohn
Barbara
B
D016960:Agrobacterium tumefaciens / Q000235:genetics*; D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified / Q000235:genetics; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D002877:Chromosomes, Human / Q000235:genetics; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded / Q000737:chemistry; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D005822:Genetic Vectors; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D007473:Ion Channels / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D016254:Mutagenesis, Insertional / Q000379:methods; D011392:Proline / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000235:genetics; D014169:Transformation, Bacterial
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D007473:Ion Channels; C036483:T-DNA; C051583:virE2 protein, Agrobacterium; C020369:hygronium; D011392:Proline