ALBERT

Notes: Type IV secretion systems are virulence determinants in many bacteria and share extensive homology with many conjugal transfer systems. Although type IV systems and their homologues have been studied widely, the mechanism by which substrates are secreted remains unclear. In Agrobacterium, we show that type IV secretion substrates that lack signal peptides form a soluble complex in the periplasm with the virulence protein VirJ. Additionally, these proteins co-precipitate with constituents of the type IV transporter: the VirB pilus and the VirD4 protein. Our findings suggest that the substrate proteins localized to the periplasm may associate with the pilus in a manner that is mediated by VirJ, and suggest a two-step process for type IV secretion in Agrobacterium. Our analyses of protein–protein interactions in a variety of mutant backgrounds indicate that substrates are probably secreted independently of one another.

Notes: Agrobacterium tumefaciens induces tumours on plants by transferring a nucleoprotein complex, the T-complex, from the bacterium to the plant cell. The T-complex consists of a single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) segment, the T-DNA, and VirD2, an endonuclease covalently attached to the 5′ end of the T-DNA. A type IV secretion system encoded by the virB operon and virD4 is required for the entry of the T-complex and VirE2, a ssDNA-binding protein, into plant cells. The VirE1 protein is specifically required for the export of the VirE2 protein, as demonstrated by extracellular complementation and tumour formation. In this report, using a yeast two-hybrid system, we demonstrated that the VirE1 and VirE2 proteins interact and confirmed this interaction by in vitro binding assays. Although VirE2 is a ssDNA-binding protein, addition of ssDNA into the binding buffer did not interfere with the interaction of VirE1 and VirE2. VirE2 also interacts with itself, but the interaction between VirE1 and VirE2 is stronger than the VirE2 self-interaction, as measured in a lacZ reporter gene assay. In addition, the interaction of VirE2 with itself is inhibited by VirE1, indicating that VirE2 binds VirE1 preferentially. Analysis of various virE2 deletions indicated that the VirE1 interaction domain of VirE2 overlaps the VirE2 self-interaction domain. Incubation of extracts from Escherichia coli overexpressing His-VirE1 with the extracts of E. coli overexpressing His-VirE2 increased the yield of His-VirE2 in the soluble fraction. In a similar purified protein solubility assay, His-VirE1 increased the amount of His-VirE2 partitioning into the soluble fraction. In Agrobacterium, VirE2 was undetectable in the soluble protein fraction unless VirE1 was co-expressed. When urea was added to solubilize any large protein aggregates, a low level of VirE2 was detected. These results indicate that VirE1 prevents VirE2 from aggregating, enhances the stability of VirE2 and, perhaps, maintains VirE2 in an export-competent state. Analysis of the deduced amino acid sequence of the VirE1 protein revealed that the VirE1 protein shares a number of properties with molecular chaperones that are involved in the transport of specific proteins into animal and plant cells using type III secretion systems. We suggest that VirE1 functions as a specific molecular chaperone for VirE2, the first such chaperone linked to the presumed type IV secretion system.

Notes: Mutagenesis of the vir region on the Ti plasmid of Agrobacterium tumefaciens revealed a new locus, virJ, that is induced by the plant-wound signal molecule, acetosyringone (AS). virJ lies between virA and virB, and is transcribed in the same direction. The amino acid sequence of virJ is similar to a region of a previously characterized chromosomal gene, acvB, required for virulence. virJ can complement the avirulent phenotype of an acvB mutant, indicating that virJ and acvB encode the same factor required for tumorigenesis. Southern analysis revealed that virJ is present on the Ti plasmid of an octopine but not a nopaline strain whereas acvB is present on the chromosomes of both octopine and nopaline strains. While virJ is regulated by AS under the control of the virA/virG two-component regulatory system, acvB is not induced by AS. VirJ possesses a putative signal peptide and was found predominantly in the periplasmic fraction. The strain lacking both acvB and virJ had an impaired ability to transfer T-DNA into plant cells, suggesting that the factor encoded by virJ or acvB is required for T-DNA transfer from A. tumefaciens to plant cells. acvB is the first chromosomal gene implicated in T-DNA transfer, but whether it functions specifically for this process is not clear. We hypothesize that virJ evolved from acvB, presumably for a more specialized role in tumorigenesis.

Notes: The limited host range (LHR) Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain Ag162 is an isolate with a narrow host range. Introduction of the wide host range (WHR) virA gene is essential for extending the host range to Kalanchoë daigremontiana. In this report we show that the region upstream of the ATG start codon is responsible for the LHR phenomenon and that this is probably due to the non-inducibility of the LHR virA promoter. By comparing the characteristics of the LHR and WHR VirA receptor proteins, it was found that the LHR VirA protein is able to activate the WHR VirG protein in the presence of acetosyringone and that this acetosyringone-dependent vir-induction is enhanced by the presence of d-glucose, as in the case of WHR VirA proteins. These results indicate that the domains, acting as receptors for sugars and phenolic signals, must be conserved between the LHR and WHR VirA receptor proteins.

Notes: Transformation of plants by Agrobacterium tumefaciens is mediated by a set of virulence (vir) genes that are specifically induced by plant signal molecules through the VirA/VirG two-component regulatory system. The plant signal is transmitted from VirA to VirG by a cascade of phosphorylation reactions followed by the sequence-specific DNA binding of the VirG protein to the vir gene promoters which then activates their transcription. In this report, we describe a VirG mutant which is able to activate Wr gene expression independently of the VirA molecule and the two plant signal molecules, acetosyringone and monosaccharides. A strain of Agrobacterium containing this virG gene but lacking a functional virA gene was able to induce tumours on all three plants that were tested. A single amino acid change of asparagine (N) to aspartate (D) at position 54, adjacent to the site of VirG phosphorylation, aspartate 52, resulted in this constitutive phenotype. In vitro phosphorylation experiments showed that the mutant protein cannot be phosphorylated by VirA, suggesting that the negative charge resulting from the N to D switch mimics the phosphorylated conformation of the VirG molecule. The same amino acid change in the virG gene of the supervirulent strain A281 also resulted in a constitutive phenotype. However, the vir genes were not induced to high levels when compared with the levels of the constitutive Virg of strain A348.

Notes: [Auszug] To the editor: In the paper entitled “Agrobacterium-Mediated Transformation of Rice (Oryza Sativa L.) ” by D. M. Raineri, P. Bottino, M. P. Gordon, and E. W. Nester (Bio/Technology 8:33, Jan. '90), the octopine spot in Figure 2, lane 5, frame B is not clear. We would be happy to ...

Notes: [Auszug] The ability of Agrobacterium rhizogenes to transform plants is dramatically increased by the presence of pTVK291, a plasmid containing part of the vir region of pTiBo542, the “supervirulent” plasmid. We have stably transformed the hybrid Populus trichocarpa x P. deltoides (clone H11) ...

Notes: [Auszug] The ability to regenerate plants from poplar cells cultured in vitro suggests that poplars may prove a valuable model system for the application of recombinant DNA technology to deciduous trees. We report here the transformation of a hybrid Populus trichocarpa × deltoides with two strains of ...