An Agrobacterium tumefaciens Strain with Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid Transaminase Activity Shows an Enhanced Genetic
Satoko Nonaka1, Tatsuhiko Someya1, Sha Zhou1
1Gene Research Center, Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba-shi, Ibaraki 305-8572, Japan.
Abstract:
Agrobacterium tumefaciens has the unique ability to mediate inter-kingdom DNA transfer, and for this reason, it has been utilized for plant genetic engineering. To increase the transformation frequency in plant genetic engineering, we focused on gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which is a negative factor in the Agrobacterium-plant interaction. Recent studies have shown contradictory results regarding the effects of GABA on vir gene expression, leading to the speculation that GABA inhibits T-DNA transfer. In this study, we examined the effect of GABA on T-DNA transfer using a tomato line with a low GABA content. Compared with the control, the T-DNA transfer frequency was increased in the low-GABA tomato line, indicating that GABA inhibits T-DNA transfer. Therefore, we bred a new A. tumefaciens strain with GABA transaminase activity and the ability to degrade GABA. The A. tumefaciens strain exhibited increased T-DNA transfer in two tomato cultivars and Erianthus arundinacues and an increased frequency of stable transformation in tomato.
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