Agrobacterium rhizogenes

Agrobacterium rhizogenes is a Gram negative soil bacterium. In the rhizosphere, plants may suffer from wounds by soil pathogens or other sources. This leads to the secretion of phenolic compounds like acetosyringone which have chemotactic effects that attract the bacteria. Under such conditions, certain bacterial genes are turned on leading to the transfer of its T-DNA from its Ri plasmid into the plant through the wound. After integration and expression, in vitro or under natural conditions, the hairy root phenotype is observed.

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The hairy roots are grown in vitro in bioreactors to study their soil interaction with other pathogens like fungi and nematodes. It has also led to the commercial production of certain metabolic compounds that the plant is known to secrete, especially in regard to the medicinal plants where a larger root biomass is obtained.

References

• Otani, M., Mii, M., Handa, T., Kamada, H. and Shimada, T. (1993). "Transformation of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.) plants by Agrobacterium rhizogenes". Plant Science 94 (1–2): 151–159.
• Van de Velde, W., Mergeay, J., Holsters, M. and Goormachtig, S. (December 2003). "Agrobacterium rhizogenes-mediated transformation of Sesbania rostrata". Plant Science 165 (6): 1281–1288.
• Intrieri, M. C. and Buiatti, M. (July 2001). "The Horizontal Transfer of Agrobacterium rhizogenes Genes and the Evolution of the Genus Nicotiana". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 20 (1): 100–110.