TY - JOUR
T1 - Genetic transformation of HeLa cells by Agrobacterium
AU - Kunik, Talya
AU - Tzfira, Tzvi
AU - Kapulnik, Yoram
AU - Gafni, Yedidya
AU - Dingwall, Colin
AU - Citovsky, Vitaly
PY - 2001/2/13
Y1 - 2001/2/13
N2 - Agrobacterium tumefaciens is a soil phytopathogen that elicits neoplastic growths on the host plant species. In nature, however, Agrobacterium also may encounter organisms belonging to other kingdoms such as insects and animals that feed on the infected plants. Can Agrobacterium, then, also infect animal cells? Here, we report that Agrobacterium attaches to and genetically transforms several types of human cells. In stably transformed HeLa cells, the integration event occurred at the right border of the tumor-inducing plasmid's transferred-DNA (T-DNA), suggesting bona fide T-DNA transfer and lending support to the notion that Agrobacterium transforms human cells by a mechanism similar to that which it uses for transformation of plants cells. Collectively, our results suggest that Agrobacterium can transport its T-DNA to human cells and integrate it into their genome.
AB - Agrobacterium tumefaciens is a soil phytopathogen that elicits neoplastic growths on the host plant species. In nature, however, Agrobacterium also may encounter organisms belonging to other kingdoms such as insects and animals that feed on the infected plants. Can Agrobacterium, then, also infect animal cells? Here, we report that Agrobacterium attaches to and genetically transforms several types of human cells. In stably transformed HeLa cells, the integration event occurred at the right border of the tumor-inducing plasmid's transferred-DNA (T-DNA), suggesting bona fide T-DNA transfer and lending support to the notion that Agrobacterium transforms human cells by a mechanism similar to that which it uses for transformation of plants cells. Collectively, our results suggest that Agrobacterium can transport its T-DNA to human cells and integrate it into their genome.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0035852731&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1073/pnas.98.4.1871
DO - 10.1073/pnas.98.4.1871
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C2 - 11172043
AN - SCOPUS:0035852731
SN - 0027-8424
VL - 98
SP - 1871
EP - 1876
JO - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
JF - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
IS - 4
ER -