The focus of this review is on the phytochromes Agp1 and Agp2 of Agrobacterium fabrum. These are involved in regulation of conjugation, gene transfer into plants, and other effects. Since crystal structures of both phytochromes are known, the phytochrome system of A. fabrum provides a tool for following the entire signal transduction cascade starting from light induced conformational changes to protein interaction and the triggering of DNA transfer processes.
Keywords: bacterial conjugation; crystal structure; evolution; histidine kinase; light regulation; origin of plant phytochromes; plant infection; protein conformational changes.
Copyright © 2021 Lamparter, Xue, Elkurdi, Kaeser, Sauthof, Scheerer and Krauß.