Question

What is the correct statement about the helper plasmid in Agrobacterium-mediated plant transformation?a) Contains a plant selectable marker, such as herbicide resistance.

b) Contains a T-DNA fragment that gets inserted into the plant genome.
c) Contains virulence (vir) genes required for the Agrobacterium infection process.
d) Is not required for plant transformation once the Ti binary vector is introduced into the Agrobacterium cells.

Answer 1

In Agrobacterium-mediated plant transformation, the helper plasmid contains virulence genes required for the infection process, while the T-DNA region, with selectable markers, is integrated into the plant genome.

Step-by-step explanation:

The correct statement about the helper plasmid in Agrobacterium-mediated plant transformation is: c) Contains virulence (vir) genes required for the Agrobacterium infection process. A helper plasmid aids in the process of transferring foreign DNA into plant cells by ensuring the Agrobacterium has the necessary virulence genes for infection and DNA transfer. The T-DNA region of the binary vector, not the helper plasmid, is what gets integrated into the plant genome and commonly carries a plant selectable marker such as herbicide resistance to aid in the selection of transformed cells.