Agrobacterium tumefaciens virE operon encodes a single-stranded DNA-binding protein

Abstract

The virulence (vir) genes of Agrobacterium tumefaciens Ti plasmid are essential for transformation of plant cells. Overproduction of a virE-encoded gene product in Escherichia coli was achieved by construction of an operon fusion with the E. coli tryptophan (trp) operon. The virE2 gene product in E. coli partitioned into the insoluble membrane fraction. The protein was solubilized by treatment with 4 M urea at 0 degree C. DNA-protein binding experiments showed that a strong single-stranded (ss) DNA-binding activity was present in protein fractions containing the virE2 gene product. The binding was highly specific with little or no binding observed with either double-stranded DNA or ssRNA. No significant binding to Ti plasmid DNA sequences was observed. Protein blotting studies indicated that the ssDNA-binding activity was associated with the 68-kDa virE2 polypeptide.