Agrobacterium conjugation and gene regulation by N-acyl-L-homoserine lactones (original) (raw)

Nature volume 362, pages 446–448 (1993)Cite this article

Abstract

CONJUGAL opines secreted by crown gall tumours induce strains of Agrobacterium tumefaciens that are donors of Ti plasmids to produce a diffusible conjugation factor1. This enhances the conjugal transfer efficiency of the Ti plasmid in other strains of A. tumefaciens. This factor behaves as a secondary messenger, transmitting the environmental information to tra genes. Here we report the use of spectrometry to show that this factor is identical to synthetic _N_-(_β_-oxo-octan-l-oyl)-L-homoserine lactone and confirm that the synthetic compound is biologically active. _N_-(Hexan-l-oyl)-L-homoserine lactone has also been detected. A closely related molecule, _N_-(_β_-oxo-hexan-l-oyl)-L-homoserine lactone, autoinduces bioluminescence in the distantly related bacterium, _Vibriofischeri_2. _N_-Acyl-homoserine lactones thus seem to be conserved molecules in which the length and nature of the lipophilic acyl chain determines the biological function to be regulated. Mutants that do not produce the factor fail to conjugate unless supplied with it in the induction medium (our unpublished data). These data indicate that the conjugation factor is an autoinducer and a key signal molecule in the conjugation system of A. tumefaciens. It is, to our knowledge, the first example of a second messenger molecule in a bacterial conjugation system.

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Author notes

  1. Max E. Tate: To whom correspondence should be addressed.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Crop Protection, Waite Agricultural Research Institute, The University of Adelaide, Glen Osmond, South Australia, Australia, 5064
    Lianhui Zhang, Peter J. Murphy & Allen Kerr
  2. Department of Plant Science, Waite Agricultural Research Institute, The University of Adelaide, Glen Osmond, South Australia, Australia, 5064
    Max E. Tate

Authors

  1. Lianhui Zhang
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  2. Peter J. Murphy
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  3. Allen Kerr
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  4. Max E. Tate
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Zhang, L., Murphy, P., Kerr, A. et al. Agrobacterium conjugation and gene regulation by _N_-acyl-L-homoserine lactones.Nature 362, 446–448 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1038/362446a0

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