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Effect of agrocin 84 on attachment of Agrobacterium tumefaciens to cultured tobacco cells

Nature volume 276, pages 498–500 (1978)Cite this article

Abstract

CROWN GALL DISEASE of dicotyledenous plants has aroused considerable interest, partly because of its economic consequences, and partly because it is the only known example of a bacterially induced cancer. The causative organisms are various strains of Agrobacterium tumefaciens harbouring large plasmids1–3. Parts of these plasmids are transmitted to plant host cells, where they are maintained and transcribed4,5. In horticultural conditions, biological control of the disease can be achieved by inoculating susceptible plants with a non-pathogen, A. tumefaciens K84 (refs 6,7) and is due to the production of an intraspecific antibiotic, agrocin 84, by this strain8. Although the structure of agrocin 84 has been partially elucidated9, the mechanism by which it prevents induction of crown gall is poorly understood. We report here the transformation of cultured tobacco cells to crown gall tumour cells and present evidence, using this in vitro transformation system, that agrocin 84 blocks the initial step of tumour induction, that is, the attachment of pathogen to host.

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  1. Department of Biochemistry, University of Bristol Medical School, University Walk, Bristol, UK

    VALERIE A. SMITH & JOHN HINDLEY

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  1. VALERIE A. SMITH
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  2. JOHN HINDLEY
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SMITH, V., HINDLEY, J. Effect of agrocin 84 on attachment of Agrobacterium tumefaciens to cultured tobacco cells. Nature 276, 498–500 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1038/276498a0

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