About the Cover
On the Cover: The cover of this Focus Issue devoted to the
Agrobacterium-Plant Cell Interaction shows scanning electron micrographs
of Agrobacteria (1 µm in length) converging on a tobacco
leaf cell (50 µm) highlighted with GFP expression and presented as
a confocal scanning laser micrograph. Within the host cell, a computed
projection of the scanning transmission microscopy image of
the T-complex (13 nm in width) is shown; this complex, shaped as
a semi-rigid, hollow cylindrical filament with a telephone cord-like
coiled structure, is formed between T-DNA and bacterial virulence
proteins exported from Agrobacterium into the host cell and is
thought to represent an intermediate of the genetic transformation
process. Agrobacterium-mediated transformation is not only a primary
tool for plant genetic engineering, but it also represents a
unique and powerful experimental system to study a wide spectrum
of basic biological processes of the plant cell. Some of the
major aspects of the Agrobacterium-plant cell interactions are highlighted
in this issue. Cover design by Vitaly Citovsky and Tzvi
Tzfira (SUNY-Stony Brook). Agrobacterium images were generously
provided by Michael Elabaum (Weizmann Institute, Israel).
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Copyright © 2007 by the American Society of Plant Biologists
