Abstract
CONJUGAL transfer of Ti plasmids from Agrobacterium donors to bacterial recipients is controlled by two types of diffusible signal molecules. Induction is mediated by novel compounds, called opines, that are secreted by crown gall tumours. These neoplasias result from infection of susceptible plants by virulent agrobacteria. The second diffusible signal, called conjugation factor, is synthesized by the donor bacteria themselves. Production of this factor is induced by the opine. Here we show that conjugation is regulated directly by a transcriptional activator, TraR, which requires conjugation factor as a coinducer to activate tra gene expression. TraR is a homologue of LuxR, the lux gene activator from Vibrio fischeri which also requires an endogenously synthesized diffusible coinducer. The two regulatory systems are related; the two activator proteins show amino-acid sequence similarities and the lux system cofactor, autoinducer, will substitute for conjugation factor in the TraR-dependent activation of Ti plasmid tra genes.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ellis, J. G. & Murphy, P. J. Molec. gen. Genet. 181, 36–43 (1981).
Ryder, M. H., Tate, M. E. & Jones, G. P. J. biol. Chem. 259, 9704–9710 (1984).
Ellis, J. G., Kerr, A., Petit, A. & Tempė, J. Molec. gen. Genet. 186, 269–274 (1982).
Hayman, G. T. & Farrand, S. K. J. Bact. 170, 1759–1767 (1988).
Beck von Bodman, S., Hayman, G. T. & Farrand, S. K. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 89, 643–647 (1992).
Beck von Bodman, S., McCutchan, J. E. & Farrand, S. K. J. Bact. 171, 5281–5289 (1989).
Zhang, L. & Kerr, A. J. Bact. 173, 1867–1872 (1991).
Zhang, L., Murphy, P. J., Kerr, A. & Tate, M. E. Nature 362, 446–448 (1993).
Sanger, G., Nicklen, S. & Coulson, A. R. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 74, 5463–5467 (1977).
Depicker, A. et al. Plasmid 3, 193–211 (1980).
Engebrecht, J. & Silverman, M. Nucleic Acids Res. 15, 10455–10467 (1987).
Nealson, K. H., Platt, T. & Hastings, J. W. J. Bact. 104, 313–322 (1970).
Dunlap, P. V. & Greenberg, E. P. in Microbial Cell-Cell Interactions (ed. Dworkin, M.) 219–253 (Am. Soc, Microbiol., Washington DC, 1991).
Eberhard, A. et al. Biochemistry 20, 2444–2449 (1981).
Gambello, M. J. & Iglewski, B. H. J. Bact. 173, 3000–3009 (1991).
Watson, B., Currier, T. C., Gordon, M. P., Chilton, M.-D. & Nester, E. W. J. Bact. 123, 255–264 (1975).
Holsters, M. et al. Molec. gen. Genet. 163, 181–187 (1978).
Cangelosi, G. A., Best, E. A., Martinetti, G. & Nester, E. W. Meth. Enzymol. 204, 384–397 (Academic, San Diego, 1991).
Miller, J. H. Experiments in Molecular Genetics 352–359 (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, New York, 1972).
Chilton, M.-D. et al. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 71, 3672–3676 (1974).
Engebrecht, J., Nealson, K. & Silverman, M. Cell 32, 773–781 (1983).
Stachel, S. E., An, G., Flores, C. & Nester, E. W. EMBO J. 4, 891–898 (1985).
Tate, R. C. et al. Biol Technology 1, 269–275 (1983).
Pearson, W. R. & Lipman, D. J. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 85, 2444–2448 (1988).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Piper, K., von Bodman, S. & Farrand, S. Conjugation factor of Agrobacterium tumefaciens regulates Ti plasmid transfer by autoinduction. Nature 362, 448–450 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1038/362448a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/362448a0
This article is cited by
-
The development of a heterologous gene expression system in thermophilic fungus Thermoascus aurantiacus
3 Biotech (2021)
-
Tools for engineering coordinated system behaviour in synthetic microbial consortia
Nature Communications (2018)
-
Identification and immobilization of a novel cold-adapted esterase, and its potential for bioremediation of pyrethroid-contaminated vegetables
Microbial Cell Factories (2017)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.
