T-DNA of Agrobacterium tumefaciens: 25 years and counting

Abstract

Twenty-five years ago the landmark paper by Mary-Dell Chilton et al. [ 1. Chilton M.D et al. Stable incorporation of plasmid DNA into higher plant cells: the molecular basis of crown gall tumorigenesis. Cell. 1977; 11: 263-271 Abstract Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (633) Google Scholar ] demonstrated the presence of a small piece of bacterial plasmid DNA in the DNA isolated from crown gall tumors. These tumors, originally initiated on tobacco plants by the soil bacterium, Agrobacterium tumefaciens, were axenic, and these experiments therefore showed that the genetic basis of crown gall disease is the interkingdom transfer of DNA. The impact that this finding has had, and continues to have, on plant biology, agriculture and biotechnology is profound. It is difficult to imagine where our fields (pun intended) would be without the capacity that Agrobacterium provides to transfer genes into plants. The purpose of this brief note is to celebrate the discovery of T-DNA and our ability to use it to engineer plants by reflecting on several of the key experiments that led to its discovery and use, and briefly to comment on its impact in plant science.