Preparation of a bank of cloned genes from the chromosome of Agrobacterium tumefaciens and the isolation of genes involved in DNA repair and genetic recombination

The virulent property of the Agrobacterium tumefaciens is associated with its tumor inducing (Ti) plasmid. Recent studies on the virulence of this bacterium has shown that genes located on its chromosome also contribute to this property. One such gene is thought to produce a protein that has properties similar to that of the recA protein of E. colt. This thesis outlines the techniques that were used to try and isolate the recA-like gene from the chromosome of the Agrobacterium tumefaciens. All the techniques used in this study are outlined in detail and an explanation given for the choice of each technique. For reasons not completely understood, we were unable to isolate the recA-like gene even though a gene bank was successfully constructed and appropriately sized fragments extracted. Attempts were made to explain some of the unexpected results and appropriate steps were proposed to further understand them