Agrobacterium

A genus of Gram-negative, aerobic, rod-shaped soil bacteria of the family Rhizobiaceae — typically plant pathogens that form crown galls and hairy roots, but immortalised by biotechnology. Agrobacterium tumefaciens naturally transfers part of its own DNA into plant cells, and scientists hijacked this system to create transgenic crops, making the bacterium the workhorse of plant genetic engineering. In food and agriculture it is therefore two things at once: a nursery pathogen to be controlled, and the delivery vehicle behind most GM traits in the food supply — from herbicide-tolerant soy to insect-resistant cotton.