Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 25, 2026

Confocal Microscopy Analysis of Protein Sorting to Plasmodesmata in Nicotiana benthamiana
Published on: November 1, 2024
Expression of plant protein phosphatase 2C interferes with nuclear import of the Agrobacterium T-complex protein
Yumin Tao1, Praveen K Rao, Saikat Bhattacharjee
1Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA.
Abstract:
Agrobacterium tumefaciens transfers DNA to plant cells as a single-stranded DNA molecule (the T-strand) covalently linked to VirD2 protein. VirD2 contains nuclear localization signal sequences that presumably help direct the T-strand to the plant nucleus. We identified a tomato cDNA clone, DIG3, that encodes a protein that interacts with the C-terminal region of VirD2. DIG3 encodes an enzymatically active type 2C serine/threonine protein phosphatase. Overexpression of DIG3 in tobacco BY-2 protoplasts inhibited nuclear import of a beta-glucuronidase-VirD2 nuclear localization signal fusion protein. Thus, DIG3 may be involved in nuclear import of the VirD2 protein and, consequently, the VirD2/transferred DNA complex.
Related Concept Videos
Protein Transport to the Inner Chloroplast Membrane
Transgenic Plants
The first-ever transgenic plant was a tobacco plant developed in 1983 that showed resistance against the tobacco mosaic virus. Since then, many transgenic plants have been developed and commercialized for improving the agricultural, ornamental, and horticultural value of a crop plant. Transgenic...
Cell Signaling in Plants
Regulation of Nuclear Protein Sorting

