Which one of the following bacteria has found extensive use in genetic engineering work in plants ?
- Xanthomonas citri
- Agrobacterium tumefaciens
- Bacillus coagulans
- Clostridium septicum
Answer
(2) Agrobacterium tumefaciens
Solution
As per NCERT, Agrobacterium tumefaciens, a pathogen of several dicot plants, is able to deliver a piece of DNA known as T-DNA to transform normal plant cells into a tumour.
⇒ The tumour-inducing (Ti) plasmid has now been modified into a cloning vector which is no more pathogenic to the plants but is still able to deliver genes of interest into plants.
∴ Agrobacterium tumefaciens is extensively used in plant genetic engineering.
Answer: (2)