Abstract
THE crown gall tumour system may represent an elegant form of biochemical parasitism, in which the tumour-inducing bacterium Agrobacterium tumefaciens can, by insertion1 and expression2 of genetic sequences carried on the tumour-inducing (Ti) plasmid3, determine the synthesis of unusual amino acids in transformed plant cells. These abnormal metabolities can be specifically utilised as nitrogen sources by the particular strain of inducing bacterium4. So far, two classes of plasmid-determined product have been recognised: the octopine family—octopine5, octopinic acid6, lysopine7 and histopine8— and the nopaline family—nopaline9 and nopalinic acid10. Whether the octopine or nopaline family of amino acids is synthesised by a particular tumour depends entirely on the type of Ti plasmid present in the inducing bacterium11. We report here the discovery of a completely new type of plasmid-determined compound which is present in prodigious amounts (up to 7% of the tumour dry weight) in tumours induced by octopine strains of A. tumefaciens.
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FIRMIN, J., FENWICK, G. Agropine—a major new plasmid-determined metabolite in crown gall tumours. Nature 276, 842–844 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1038/276842a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/276842a0
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