Natural GMOs Part 80. Bacteria mate with fungi on plant surfaces

[Guest guest]

Natural GMOs Part 80. Bacteria mate with fungi on plant surfaces.

by Tribe on 28 October 2010

From GMO Pundit.

http://www.biofortified.org/2010/10/natural-gmos-part-80-bacteria-mate-with-fung\

i-on-plant-surfaces/

Investigating Agrobacterium-Mediated Transformation of Verticillium albo-atrum

on Plant Surfaces

Abstract

Background

Agrobacterium tumefaciens has long been known to transform plant tissue in

nature as part of its infection process. This natural mechanism has been

utilised over the last few decades in laboratories world wide to genetically

manipulate many species of plants. More recently this technology has been

successfully applied to non-plant organisms in the laboratory, including fungi,

where the plant wound hormone acetosyringone, an inducer of transformation, is

supplied exogenously. In the natural environment it is possible that

Agrobacterium and fungi may encounter each other at plant wound sites, where

acetosyringone would be present, raising the possibility of natural gene

transfer from bacterium to fungus.

Methodology/Principal Findings

We investigate this hypothesis through the development of experiments designed

to replicate such a situation at a plant wound site. A. tumefaciens harbouring

the plasmid pCAMDsRed was co-cultivated with the common plant pathogenic fungus

Verticillium albo-atrum on a range of wounded plant tissues. Fungal

transformants were obtained from co-cultivation on a range of plant tissue

types, demonstrating that plant tissue provides sufficient vir gene inducers to

allow A. tumefaciens to transform fungi in planta.

Conclusions/Significance

This work raises interesting questions about whether A. tumefaciens may be able

to transform organisms other than plants in nature, or indeed should be

considered during GM risk assessments, with further investigations required to

determine whether this phenomenon has already occurred in nature.

Citation: Knight CJ, AM, GD (2010) Investigating

Agrobacterium-Mediated Transformation of Verticillium albo-atrum on Plant

Surfaces. PLoS ONE 5(10): e13684. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0013684

Received: June 14, 2010; Accepted: October 5, 2010; Published: October 27, 2010