Opine-based Agrobacterium competitiveness: dual expression control of the agrocinopine catabolism (acc) operon by agrocinopines and phosphate levels.

ABSTRACT: Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain C58 can transform plant cells to produce and secrete the sugar-phosphate conjugate opines agrocinopines A and B. The bacterium then moves in response to the opines and utilizes them as exclusive sources of carbon, energy, and phosphate via the functions encoded by the acc operon. These privileged opine-involved activities contribute to the formation of agrobacterial niches in the environment. We found that the expression of the acc operon is induced by agrocinopines and also by limitation of phosphate. The main promoter is present in front of the first gene, accR, which codes for a repressor. This operon structure enables efficient repression when opine levels are low. The promoter contains two putative operators, one overlapping the -10 sequence and the ot

SUBMITTER: Kim HS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2395003 | biostudies-literature | 2008 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature