T-DNA integration patterns in co-transformed plant cells suggest that T-DNA repeats originate from co-integration of separate T-DNAs.

Nicotiana protoplasts and Arabidopsis leaf discs or roots were co-cultivated with two Agrobacterium strains each carrying a different T-DNA. Co-transformed plants were selected and the integration of the different T-DNAs was analysed at the genetic and genomic level. Genetic analysis showed that the T-DNAs derived from different bacteria were frequently integrated at the same locus, independent of the plant species or transformation method used. Southern analysis revealed that 12 out of 27 Arabidopsis transformants contained the co-transferred T-DNAs linked to each other in all possible configurations but with a preference for those with at least one right border involved in linkage. Overall, our data support the hypothesis that ligation of separate T-DNAs is a dominant mechanism in formation of the frequently observed repeats of identical T-DNAs. We propose a scheme which could explain the formation of T-DNA repeats and the preferential involvement of right borders in T-DNA linkages.