Genetics and Genomics Commons^™

Scientific Investigation Of The Plant Pathogen Agrobacterium Tumefaciens, Casey M. Flanagan, Christopher B. Crowell Ii, Bryan P. Markelz

Honors Theses

A. tumefaciensis a plant pathogen and causative agent of Crown Gall Disease, an ailment that results in the development of tumors in plants. It is a unique organism in that it is the only known non-viral pathogen that transfers its DNA into the host cell. Consequently, the majority of the research conducted on A. tumefaciensinvestigates its mechanism of infection. However, A. tumefaciensis also rare to the bacterial world in that its genome is comprised of two chromosomes: one circular and one linear. Most other bacteria only have one circular chromosome. This area of research has been grossly overlooked and therefore …