Transgenic plants are plants that have been genetically modified to express desirable traits. Genes can be transferred from one plant species to another using Agrobacterium tumefaciens, a soil bacterium. Agrobacterium transfers DNA from its tumor-inducing (Ti) plasmid into the plant genome. The Ti plasmid contains genes that cause tumors as well as a region that can be replaced with a gene of interest. Transformed plants are regenerated and screened for the introduced trait. Common traits introduced include herbicide and insect resistance, improved nutrition, and environmental stress tolerance.