Question
Which one of the following bacteria has found extensive use in genetic engineering work in plants?
Bacillus coagulens
Agrobacterium tumefaciens
Bacillus subtilis
E. coli
Solution
B.
Agrobacterium tumefaciens
Agrobacterium tumefaciens is a plant pathogen that causes a disease of plants called crown gall disease. The tumour like gall grows when A. tumefaciens inserts a plasmid (Ti plasmid), containing bacterial genetic information into the plant's chromosomal DNA. Therefore, this bacteria has been extensively used as a vector for gene transfer to plant cells.
