Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 11, 2026

Agroinfiltration and PVX Agroinfection in Potato and Nicotiana benthamiana
Published on: January 4, 2014
Avirulence gene D of Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato may have undergone horizontal gene transfer
T Hanekamp1, D Kobayashi, S Hayes
1Department of Molecular Biology, University of Wyoming, Laramie 82071-3944, USA.
Abstract:
Avirulence gene D (avrD) is carried on the B-plasmid of the plant pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato with plasmid-borne avrD homologs widely distributed among the Pseudomonads. We now report sequences in the soft rot pathogen Erwinia carotovora that cross-hybridize to avrD suggesting a conserved function beyond avirulence. Alternatively, avrD may have been transferred horizontally among species: (i) DNA linked to avrD shows evidence of class II transpositions and contains a novel IS3-related insertion sequence, and (ii) short sequences linked to avrD are similar to pathogenicity genes from a variety of unrelated pathogens. We have also identified the gene cluster that controls B-plasmid stability.
Related Concept Videos
Types of Genetic Transfer Between Organisms
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...
Horizontal Gene Transfer
Conjugation
Transduction
Evolution of Microbial Genome

