agrobacteria

[ag-roh-bak-teer-ee-uh]

plural noun

Bacteriology.

singular

agrobacterium 

1. short rod-shaped aerobic bacteria of the genus Agrobacterium, that cause plant diseases, as crown gall.

Word History and Origins

Origin of agrobacteria¹

From New Latin; agro-, bacteria

Example Sentences

Initially the genes are transferred to agrobacteria, increasingly used in genetic engineering because they can transfer DNA between themselves and plants.

Read more on BBC

More often, however, scientists use microbes called agrobacteria, which Pauls calls “natural genetic engineers” because of their behavior in the wild.

Read more on Washington Post