title: Agrobacterium tumefaciens Gene Transfer: How a Plant Pathogen Hacks the Nuclei of Plant and Nonplant Organisms.
abstract: Agrobacterium species are soilborne gram-negative bacteria exhibiting predominantly a saprophytic lifestyle. Only a few of these species are capable of parasitic growth on plants, causing either hairy root or crown gall diseases. The core of the infection strategy of pathogenic Agrobacteria is a genetic transformation of the host cell, via stable integration into the host genome of a DNA fragment called T-DNA. This genetic transformation results in oncogenic reprogramming of the host to the benefit of the pathogen. This unique ability of interkingdom DNA transfer was largely used as a tool for genetic engineering. Thus, the artificial host range of Agrobacterium is continuously expanding and includes plant and nonplant organisms. The increasing availability of genomic tools encouraged genome-wide surveys of T-DNA tagged libraries, and the pattern of T-DNA integration in eukaryotic genomes was studied. Therefore, data have been collected in numerous laboratories to attain a better understanding of T-DNA integration mechanisms and potential biases. This review focuses on the intranuclear mechanisms necessary for proper targeting and stable expression of Agrobacterium oncogenic T-DNA in the host cell. More specifically, the role of genome features and the putative involvement of host's transcriptional machinery in relation to the T-DNA integration and effects on gene expression are discussed. Also, the mechanisms underlying T-DNA integration into specific genome compartments is reviewed, and a theoretical model for T-DNA intranuclear targeting is presented.
authors.affiliation: First, second, and third authors: INRA, UMR 1290 INRA-AgroParisTech BIOGER, Avenue Lucien Brétignières, BP 01, F-78850 Thiverval-Grignon, France.
authors.forename: Salim
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bourras
authors.affiliation: First, second, and third authors: INRA, UMR 1290 INRA-AgroParisTech BIOGER, Avenue Lucien Brétignières, BP 01, F-78850 Thiverval-Grignon, France.
authors.forename: Thierry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Rouxel
authors.affiliation: First, second, and third authors: INRA, UMR 1290 INRA-AgroParisTech BIOGER, Avenue Lucien Brétignières, BP 01, F-78850 Thiverval-Grignon, France.
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Meyer
mesh_terms: D016960:Agrobacterium tumefaciens / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000235:genetics; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D018014:Gene Transfer Techniques; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D010944:Plants / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; C036483:T-DNA