Vegetables also suffer from cancer, but in this case the disease is not fatal , although it can impair its development. Tumors are usually produced by organisms such as lichens, bacteria, viruses, and insects. One of the most common is due to the action of Agrobacterium tumefaciens , a bacterium that causes nodules in dicotyledonous plants known as galls or neck tumors , which grow in the area where the root and stem meet.
Agrobacterium tumefaciens follows the trail of substances released by the plant through small wounds and takes advantage of these pathways to infiltrate. Later, the microorganism embeds itself in the intercellular spaces and from there transfers a fragment of its genetic material to the cells of its host, which integrates into some area of the plant genome and becomes cancer.
The process is very interesting for scientists investigating genetic engineering, since Agrobacterium tumefaciens turns out to be a very suitable agent for transmitting the properties to be implanted in a certain crop. For example to develop plant species resistant to insects and pests.
Photograph: CM / GNU
