Agrobacterium: soil microbe, plant pathogen, and natural genetic engineer

Agrobacterium tumefaciens (Agrobacterium for short) is a single-celled microbe and natural genetic engineer. It takes part of its DNA (the blueprint instructions for life, which are found in every living thing), and inserts it into the DNA of a plant! This tricks the plant into protecting and feeding the microbe; this is great for the microbe, but not so great for the plant. The discovery that Agrobacterium inserts its DNA into plants shows us that genetic engineering is a natural process. Scientists can use this technique to easily introduce new DNA sequences into crop plants, which gives the crops new abilities that help them to fight off pests, grow more nutritious food, and become better at dealing with climate change! In this article, we will explore how Agrobacterium makes a genetically modified organism (GMO), and how this process can help us to improve crop plants and grow more food using less land and pesticides.