Many Gram-negative bacteria can enter the viable but nonculturable (VBNC) state. The VBNC state is characterized by an inability of viable cells to give rise to a colony for periods exceeding a month when plated on non-selective growth medium. We present evidence that Agrobacterium tumefaciens and Rhizobium meliloti can become VBNC in response to inoculation into tap water from a specific source. In addition, the Ti plasmid is maintained in VBNC A. tumefaciens cells.
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Manahan et al. (2006) studied this question.
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