Cell-cell signaling and the Agrobacterium tumefaciens Ti plasmid copy number fluctuations

The Agrobacterium tumefaciens oncogenic Ti plasmids replicate and segregate to daughter cells via repABC cassettes, in which repA and repB are plasmid partitioning genes and repC encodes the replication initiator protein. repABC cassettes are encountered in a growing number of plasmids and chromosomes of the alpha-proteobacteria, and findings from particular representatives of agrobacteria, rhizobia and Paracoccus have began to shed light on their structure and functions. Amongst repABC replicons, Ti plasmids and particularly the octopine-type Ti have recently stood as model in regulation of repABC basal expression, which acts in plasmid copy number control, but also appear to undergo pronounced up-regulation of repABC, upon interbacterial and host-bacterial signaling. The last results in considerable Ti copy number increase and collective elevation of Ti gene expression. Inhibition of the Ti repABC is in turn conferred by a plant defense compound, which primarily affects Agrobacterium virulence and interferes with cell-density perception. Altogether, the above suggest that the entire Ti gene pool is subjected to the bacterium-eukaryote signaling network, a phenomenon quite unprecedented for replicons thought of as stringently controlled. It remains to be seen whether similar copy number variations characterize related replicons or if they are of even broader significance in plasmid biology.