Involvement of targeted proteolysis in plant genetic transformation by Agrobacterium

Genetic transformation of plant cells by Agrobacterium represents a unique case of trans-kingdom DNA transfer1. During this process, Agrobacterium exports its transferred (T) DNA and several virulence (Vir) proteins into the host cell2, within which T-DNA nuclear import is mediated by VirD2 (ref. 3) and VirE2 (ref. 4) and their host cell interactors AtKAP-α5 and VIP1 (ref. 6), whereas its integration is mediated mainly by host cell proteins7,8,9. The factors involved in the uncoating of T-DNA from its cognate proteins, which occurs before integration into the host genome, are still unknown. Here, we report that VirF—one of the few known exported Vir proteins whose function in the host cell remains unknown—is involved in targeted proteolysis of VIP1 and VirE2. We show that VirF localizes to the plant cell nucleus and interacts with VIP1, a nuclear protein. VirF, which contains an F-box motif10, significantly destabilizes both VIP1 and VirE2 in yeast cells. Destabilization of VIP1 in the presence of VirF was then confirmed in planta. These results suggest that VIP1 and its cognate VirE2 are specifically targeted by the VirF-containing Skp1–Cdc53-cullin–F-box complex for proteolysis. The critical role of proteasomal degradation in Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation was also evident from inhibition of T-DNA expression by a proteasomal inhibitor.