Effective Combination of Agrobacterium tumefaciens Strains and Ti Plasmids for the Construction of Plant Vector System

The purpose of this study is to obtain the most efficient combination of Agrobacterium tumefaciens strains and Ti plasmids for the construction of dicotyledonous plant vector system. Ti plasmid-curing A. tumefaciens A136 and KU12C3 were transformed with four kinds of Ti plasmids, pTiBo542, pTiA6, pTiKU12 and pTiAch5, respectively. The stems of 28 species of dicotyledonous plants were then inoculated with these transformants and examined for crown gall formation. The different combination of A. tumefaciens strains and Ti plasmids showed quite a difference in terms of the crown gall formation. Agrobacterium strins A136 and KU12C3 have a same plant host range in case that both strains harour the same kind of Ti plasmid, pTiBo542 or pTiAch5. However, the above-mentioned both strains have quite different host range in the event of containing the same Ti plasmid, pTiKU12 or pTiA6. In case that KU12C3 contains pTiA6 or pTiKU12, this strain has a wider plant host range than A136. The plant host range of pTiBo542 is the widest, followed by pTiA6, pTiKU12 and pTiAch5. Twelve plants among 28 tested plants are not transformed by any virulent Agrobacterium strains used in this study. In conclusion, A. tumefaciens KU12C3 and A136 harboring pTiBo542 showed the widest host range for transforming dicotyledonous plants. Also, it was acertained that the host range of Ti plasmids is affected by chromosomal level.