Induction of Agrobacterium tumefaciens vir genes by the green alga, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

We have recently reported the development of Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of unicellular green alga, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. We have observed that Chlamydomonas cells could be transformed without the addition of acetosyringone. Here we report the ability of Chlamydomonas cells to induce Agrobacterium processes - vir gene induction and bacterial attachment, which are essential for T-DNA transfer. These results indicate that Chlamydomonas and the related algal species may be in the natural host range of Agrobacterium.