The left side of this diagram shows how Agrobacterium is used in broad-leafed (dicots) crops such as tomatoes, potatoes, cotton and canola to introduce a new gene into a plant. Agrobacterium tumefaciens is a soil microorganism that acts as a natural genetic engineer. It can insert a piece of its DNA into the chromosome of a plant cell. Monsanto researchers discovered that for some kinds of plants, Agrobacterium was the perfect method for introducing new traits into the plant. When pieces of plant tissue were added to culture with the Agrobacterium containing the new gene, the gene could be transferred into the plant cells. These cells grow into plants with the new trait.

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