Side Project

The easiest way to perform a natural molecular biological transformation with plants is using bacteria. The bacteria being used is Agrobacterium tumefaciens (A. tumefaciens) that has a plasmid that can be easily transferred to plant cells. Thus, this Gram-negative agent is used as a tool for engineering desired genes into plants. The major cause of plant disease that this bacterium causes is crown gall. Figure 1 and 2 below show some of the pictures I took around off campus sites.

Figure 1. This tree whole trunk is covered with crown gall. The tree is located just across the street from the DB Building at Phoenix College.

Figure 2. The second site of this crown gall is located just a few more feet away near Thomas Rd.

I started preparing my subjects below for germination and the seeds used are soybeans and wheat. Figure 3 and 4 show the pots and location of each per pot.

Figure 3. The seeds used are shown below the pots and the pots are numbered 1-6 just above the rim.

Figure 4. The pots were placed in a 12 hour light incubator for growth around 1 o'clock on October 08, 2013. Note that the typo above in the picture is "seeds" for the "plants"

I hope to identify these bacteria with positive growth of the tumor once introduced to the plant with some type of identification marker like pGLO added to the bacteria. I plan on thinking about how to introduce these bacteria to the growing plants. For example, should I inject the disease causing tumor in the stem, on the leaf, or on the roots? Should I mix with soil or dip plant in solution of A. tumefaciens? Moreover, I look forward to a positive Agrobacterium tumefaciens.