Intracellular transport of agrobacterium T-DNA

Abstract

To transfer genes to plants or other organisms, Agrobacterium exports its transferred DNA (T-DNA), along with several virulence proteins, into the host cell. The T-DNA must then be transported through the cytoplasm to the nuclear pore, pass through the nuclear pore complex, and finally move inside the nucleus toward a potential site of integration into the host genome. This T-DNA voyage inside the host cell results from a complex interplay between numerous bacterial and host factors, where host-cell machineries that allow macromolecular movements are employed by Agrobacterium to achieve the transfer and integration of T-DNA into the host genome. © 2008 Springer-Verlag New York.