Question

Agrobacterium tumefaciens is most widely used for gene transfer because

• A. It causes crown gall tumours.
  
• B. It has an ability to insert Ti plasmid into nuclear genome.
  
• C. It can grow anywhere.
  
• D. It has ability to kill pathogenic bacteria.
  

Answer 1

Answer: (B)

It has an ability to insert Ti plasmid into nuclear genome.

Agrobacterium tumefaciens naturally infects the wound sites in dicots causing the crown gall disease. It is capable of transferring T-DNA of the Tumour inducing (Ti) plasmid into the nucleus of infected cells. It will then integrate into the host genome and is transcribed, causing the crown gall disease. This property of tumor formation is exploited in biotechnology and hence Agrobacterium tumefaciens has become the most used method for plant transformation by gene transfer. Thus the correct answer is option C.