VirA is a protein histidine kinase which senses certain sugars and

phenolic compounds In organic chemistry, phenols, sometimes called phenolics, are a class of chemical compounds consisting of one or more hydroxyl groups (− O H) bonded directly to an aromatic hydrocarbon group. The simplest is phenol, . Phenolic compounds are c ...

. These compounds are typically found from wounded plants, and as a result VirA is used by ''

Agrobacterium tumefaciens ''Agrobacterium tumefaciens'' (also known as ''Rhizobium radiobacter'') is the causal agent of crown gall disease (the formation of tumours) in over 140 species of eudicots. It is a rod-shaped, Gram-negative soil bacterium. Symptoms are cause ...

'' to locate potential host organisms for infection. This detection is the first stage in the

Ti plasmid A tumour inducing (Ti) plasmid is a plasmid found in pathogenic species of ''Agrobacterium'', including Agrobacterium tumefaciens, ''A. tumefaciens'', Rhizobium rhizogenes, ''A. rhizogenes'', ''A. rubi'' and Allorhizobium vitis, ''A. vitis''. Ev ...

transfer.Agrobacterium and plant genes involved in T-DNA transfer and integration - Annu. Rev. Plant Physiol. Plant Mol. Biol. 2000. 51:223–56

References

Protein kinases EC 2.7 {{2.7-enzyme-stub