Opine biosynthesis and catabolism genes of Agrobacterium tumefaciens and Agrobacterium rhizogenes

Agrobacterium is a genus of soil bacteria with the ability to transform plant cells by a T-DNA-sequence located on the pTi/pRi-plasmid containing a set of genes expressed in plant cells. Expression of these genes leads to a proliferation of transformed cells, with the subsequent formation of tumors or growths of roots and the synthesis of opines-products of the condensation of amino acids with ketoacids or sugars used by agrobacteria as a source of carbon and nitrogen. In this review, we systematized the information about most common opines in plant-Agrobacterium systems and their biosynthesis and catabolism genes, as well as the role of opines in the interaction of pathogenic Agrobacterium with plants and with other Agrobacterium strains, including the genetic consequences of such interactions.