Abstract
The study of pathogenic agents in their natural niches allows for a better understanding of disease persistence and dissemination. Bacteria belonging to the Agrobacterium genus are soil-borne and can colonize the rhizosphere. These bacteria are also well known as phytopathogens as they can cause tumors (crown gall disease) by transferring a DNA region (T-DNA) into a wide range of plants. Most reviews on Agrobacterium are focused on virulence determinants, T-DNA integration, bacterial and plant factors influencing the efficiency of genetic transformation. Recent research papers have focused on the plant tumor environment on the one hand, and genetic traits potentially involved in bacterium-plant interactions on the other hand. The present review gathers current knowledge about the special conditions encountered in the tumor environment along with the Agrobacterium genetic determinants putatively involved in bacterial persistence inside a tumor. By integrating recent metabolomic and transcriptomic studies, we describe how tumors develop and how Agrobacterium can maintain itself in this nutrient-rich but stressful and competitive environment.
Highlights
The persistence of bacterial phytopathogens results from many factors including survival in natural habitats such as the soil, the rhizosphere, or the phyllosphere (van der Wolf and Boer, 2015), acclimation capacities to different lifestyles, and the ability to efficiently shift from one lifestyle to another (Sokurenko et al, 2006; Engering et al, 2013; Duprey et al, 2014; Wei et al, 2015)
The persistence of bacterial phytopathogens results from many factors including survival in natural habitats such as the soil, the rhizosphere, or the phyllosphere, acclimation capacities to different lifestyles, and the ability to efficiently shift from one lifestyle to another (Sokurenko et al, 2006; Engering et al, 2013; Duprey et al, 2014; Wei et al, 2015)
Plant defense relies on signaling by chemical compounds such as salicylic acid (SA), jasmonic acid (JA), or ethylene that allow for the induction of pathogenesis-related proteins, some of which exhibit antimicrobial activities (Costet et al, 1999; Durrant and Dong, 2004)
Summary
The persistence of bacterial phytopathogens results from many factors including survival in natural habitats such as the soil, the rhizosphere, or the phyllosphere (van der Wolf and Boer, 2015), acclimation capacities to different lifestyles, and the ability to efficiently shift from one lifestyle to another (Sokurenko et al, 2006; Engering et al, 2013; Duprey et al, 2014; Wei et al, 2015). Both genes are expressed in C58-induced tumors (González-Mula et al, 2018), suggesting that bacteria produce cytokinin in that environment. Some Agrobacterium genes involved in EPS (curdlan) production are expressed in C58-induced tumors (González-Mula et al, 2018) where they may serve as osmoprotectants.
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