Agrobacterium tumefaciens:

Introduction:
Agrobacterium tumefaciens is a Gram-negative, non-sporing, motile, rod-shaped
bacterial species, closely related to Rhizobium that produces nitrogen fixing
bacteria in clover and other leguminous plants, developed by H. J. Conn who uses
horizontal gene transfer to create tumors in plants. Agrobacterium tumefaciens are
the most studied species in this genus. Agrobacterium strains are divided into three
biovars based on their use of different carbohydrates and other biochemical tests.
The differences between biovars are determined by the genes in a single
chromosomal DNA circle. Agrobacterium tumefaciens is well-known for its ability
to transfer DNA between itself and plants, and for this reason it has become an
important genetic engineering tool.

Scientific Classification:
Domain: Bacteria
Phylum: Proteobacteria
Class: Alphaproteobacteria
Order: Rhizobiales
Family: Rhizobiaceae
Genus: Agrobacterium
Species: Agrobacterium tumefaciens
Main Discussion:
The genus Agrobacterium is very different. Recent research has redefined all
varieties of Agrobacterium into new varieties, such as Ahrensia,
Pseudorhodobacter, Ruegeria, and Stappia, but many varieties have been further
classified as Rhizobium varieties.
Agrobacterium tumefaciens is a Gram-negative, non-sporing, motile, rod-shaped
bacterial species, closely related to Rhizobium that produces nitrogen fixing
bacteria in clover and other leguminous plants, developed by H. J. Conn who uses
horizontal gene transfer to create tumors in plants. Agrobacterium tumefaciens are
the most studied species in this genus. Agrobacterium strains are divided into three
biovars based on their use of different carbohydrates and other biochemical tests.
The differences between biovars are determined by the genes in a single
chromosomal DNA circle. Agrobacterium tumefaciens is well-known for its ability
to transfer DNA between itself and plants, and for this reason it has become an
important genetic engineering tool.
Most of the genes involved in crown gall disease are not carried by the A.
tumefaciens chromosome but in a large plasmid, called Ti (tumour-inducing)
plasmid. In a similar way, most of the genes that make up Rhizobium species
produce nitrogen fixation nodes contained in a large plasmid called Sym
(symbiotic) plasmid. Thus, the genetic biology of these two bacteria is primarily
the function of their plasmids, not the bacterial chromosome.
The important role of plasmids in these bacteria can be easily demonstrated by the
"cure" of bacteria. If the bacterium grows near its maximum temperature (about
30oC in the case of Agrobacterium or Rhizobium) plasmid is lost and the
pathogenicity (of Agrobacterium) or the ability to form a nodule (of Rhizobium) is
also lost. However, the loss of plasmid does not affect the growth of bacteria in the
culture - non-plasmid species are fully functional bacteria.
In lab cases it is also possible to treat Agrobacterium or Rhizobium and introduce
plasmid of another organism. The introduction of Ti plasmid into the Rhizobium
causes these galls to form; the introduction of Sym plasmid to Agrobacterium
causes it to form nodule-like structures, although they are not fully functional.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agrobacterium
http://archive.bio.ed.ac.uk/jdeacon/microbes/crown.htm