Crown gall disease and hairy root disease : a sledgehammer and a tackhammer

The neoplastic diseases crown gall and hairy root are incited by the phytopathogenic bacteria Agrobacterium tumefaciens and Agrobacterium rhizogenes, respectively. Although the molecular mechanism of T-DNA transfer to the plant most likely is the same for both species, the physiological basis of tumorigenesis is fundamentally different. Crown gall tumors result from the over-production of the phytohormones auxin and cytokinin specified by A. tumefaciens T-DNA genes. Although the T-DNA of some Riplasmids of A. rhizogenes contains auxin biosynthetic genes, these loci are not always necessary for hairy root formation. Recent experiments suggest that hairy root tumors result from the increased sensitivity of transformed cells to endogenous auxin levels. An understanding of hairy root tumorigenesis will likely result in an increased knowledge of plant developmental processes.