Roots induced on cucumber cotyledons by the agropine Ri plasmid TR-DNA exhibit the transformed phenotype.

Cucumber explants were transformed by Agrabacterium strains carrying Ri plasmids with functional TL and TR-DNAs, and by strains whose pRi had an intact TR-DNA but a disarmed TL-DNA lacking open reading frames (ORFs) 3 to 9, 10 (rol A), 11 (rol B), 12 (rol C), 13, 14, 15 (rol D), 16 and 17. Roots induced by all strains exhibited extensive root hair formation under axenic conditions, synthesised opines, and contained TR-specific DNA. These results confirm that the TR-DNA of an agropine Ri plasmid is able to elicit the transformed root phenotype in this plant.