Agrobacterium tumefaciens and A. rhizogenes use different proteins to transport bacterial DNA into the plant cell nucleus

Summary Agrobacterium tumefaciens and A. rhizogenes transport single‐stranded DNA (ssDNA; T‐strands) and virulence proteins into plant cells through a type IV secretion system. DNA transfer initiates when VirD2 nicks border sequences in the tumour‐inducing plasmid, attaches to the 5′ end, and pilots T‐strands into plant cells. Agrobacterium tumefaciens translocates ssDNA‐binding protein VirE2 into plant cells where it targets T‐strands into the nucleus. Some A. rhizogenes strains lack VirE2 but transfer T‐strands efficiently due to the GALLS gene, which complements an A. tumefaciens virE2 mutant. VirE2 and full‐length GALLS (GALLS‐FL) contain nuclear localization sequences that target these proteins to the plant cell nucleus. VirE2 binds cooperatively to T‐strands allowing it to move ssDNA without ATP hydrolysis. Unlike VirE2, GALLS‐FL contains ATP‐binding and helicase motifs similar to those in TraA, a strand transferase involved in conjugation. VirE2 may accumulate in the nucleus and pull T‐strands into the nucleus using the force generated by cooperative DNA binding. GALLS‐FL accumulates inside the nucleus where its predicted ATP‐dependent strand transferase may pull T‐strands into the nucleus. These different mechanisms for nuclear import of T‐strands may affect the efficiency and quality of transgenic events in plant biotechnology applications.