Premium
Trans‐kingdom T‐DNA transfer from Agrobacterium tumefaciens to Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
Author(s) -
Bundock P.,
DulkRas A.,
Beijersbergen A.,
Hooykaas P.J.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
the embo journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 7.484
H-Index - 392
eISSN - 1460-2075
pISSN - 0261-4189
DOI - 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1995.tb07323.x
Subject(s) - agrobacterium tumefaciens , chinese academy of sciences , library science , biology , transfer dna , biological sciences , genetics , microbiology and biotechnology , gene , political science , computer science , china , transformation (genetics) , law
Agrobacterium tumefaciens transfers part of its tumour‐inducing (Ti) plasmid, the transferred or T‐DNA, to plants during tumourigenesis. This represents the only example of naturally occurring trans‐kingdom transfer of genetic material. Here we report that A.tumefaciens can transfer its T‐DNA not only to plant cells, but also to another eukaryote, namely the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The Ti plasmid virulence (vir) genes that mediate T‐DNA transfer to plants were found to be essential for transfer to yeast as well. Transgenic S.cerevisiae strains were analysed for their T‐DNA content. Results showed that T‐DNA circles were formed in yeast with precise fusions between the left and right borders. Such T‐DNA circles were stably maintained by the yeast if the replicator from the yeast 2 mu plasmid was present in the T‐DNA. Integration of T‐DNA in the S.cerevisiae genome was found to occur via homologous recombination. This contrasts with integration in the plant genome, where T‐DNA integrates preferentially via illegitimate recombination. Our results thus suggest that the process of T‐DNA integration is predominantly determined by host factors.