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Determinants of Host Specificity of Agrobacterium and their Function

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The Rhizobiaceae

Abstract

The host range of Agrobacterium spp. is extremely broad in contrast to other plant bacterial pathogens or the symbiotic Rhizobium spp. It can induce tumor formation on a wide range of dicotyledonous plants, as well as on a number of gymnosperms and a few monocots, following artificial inoculation (De Cleene 1985; De Cleene and De Ley 1976; Smith and Hood 1995). However, the host range of Agrobacterium spp. is much more restricted in nature, since the trademark crown gall disease is limited to grapevines, stone and pome fruit trees, nut trees, and a few ornamentals, on which most economic damage is done (Kerr 1992). The host range of Agrobacterium was traditionally assayed by tumor formation, but some plants, including a number of monocotyledons, do not respond with tumor formation although they permit Agrobacterium-mediated T-DNA transfer. Jarchow et al., (1991) proposed that these plants be termed “silent hosts”. In this section, we will not make the distinction between natural host range and artificial host range except when necessary. Any plant which can be infected by Agrobacterium spp. and allows T-DNA transfer and integration, naturally or artificially, will be viewed as a host.

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© 1998 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Deng, W., Nester, E.W. (1998). Determinants of Host Specificity of Agrobacterium and their Function. In: Spaink, H.P., Kondorosi, A., Hooykaas, P.J.J. (eds) The Rhizobiaceae. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-5060-6_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-5060-6_16

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-7923-5180-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-011-5060-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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