Exploration of insecticidal potential of Cry protein purified from Bacillus thuringiensis VIID1

2021 ◽  
Vol 174 ◽  
pp. 362-369
Author(s):  
Drishtant Singh ◽  
Samiksha ◽  
Seema Madhumal Thayil ◽  
Satwinder Kaur Sohal ◽  
Anup Kumar Kesavan
2015 ◽  
Vol 82 (4) ◽  
pp. 1286-1294 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evelyn Durmaz ◽  
Yan Hu ◽  
Raffi V. Aroian ◽  
Todd R. Klaenhammer

ABSTRACTTheBacillus thuringiensiscrystal (Cry) protein Cry5B (140 kDa) and a truncated version of the protein, tCry5B (79 kDa), are lethal to nematodes. Genes encoding the two proteins were separately cloned into a high-copy-number vector with a strong constitutive promoter (pTRK593) inLactococcus lactisfor potential oral delivery against parasitic nematode infections. Western blots using a Cry5B-specific antibody revealed that constitutively expressed Cry5B and tCry5B were present in both cells and supernatants. To increase production,cry5Bwas cloned into the high-copy-number plasmid pMSP3535H3, carrying a nisin-inducible promoter. Immunoblotting revealed that 3 h after nisin induction, intracellular Cry5B was strongly induced at 200 ng/ml nisin, without adversely affecting cell viability or cell membrane integrity. Both Cry5B genes were also cloned into plasmid pTRK1061, carrying a promoter and encoding a transcriptional activator that invoke low-level expression of prophage holin and lysin genes inLactococcuslysogens, resulting in a leaky phenotype. Cry5B and tCry5B were actively expressed in the lysogenic strainL. lactisKP1 and released into cell supernatants without affecting culture growth. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assays indicated that Cry5B, but not LDH, leaked from the bacteria. Lastly, using intracellular lysates fromL. lactiscultures expressing both Cry5B and tCry5B,in vivochallenges ofCaenorhabditis elegansworms demonstrated that the Cry proteins were biologically active. Taken together, these results indicate that active Cry5B proteins can be expressed intracellularly in and released extracellularly fromL. lactis, showing potential for future use as an anthelminthic that could be delivered orally in a food-grade microbe.


2014 ◽  
Vol 80 (12) ◽  
pp. 3576-3584 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gaoyan Wang ◽  
David C. Manns ◽  
John J. Churey ◽  
Randy W. Worobo

ABSTRACTThurincin H is an antimicrobial peptide produced byBacillus thuringiensisSF361. With a helical back bone, the 31 amino acids of thurincin H form a hairpin structure maintained by four pairs of very unique sulfur-to-α-carbon thioether bonds. The production of thurincin H depends on a putative gene cluster containing 10 open reading frames. The gene cluster includes three tandem structural genes (thnA1,thnA2, andthnA3) encoding three identical 40-amino-acid thurincin H prepeptides and seven other genes putatively responsible for prepeptide processing, regulation, modification, exportation, and self-immunity. A homologous thurincin H expression system was developed by transforming a thurincin H-deficient host with a novel expression vector, pGW133. The host, designatedB. thuringiensisSF361 ΔthnA1ΔthnA2ΔthnA3, was constructed by deletion of the three tandem structural genes from the chromosome of the natural thurincin H producer. The thurincin H expression vector pGW133 was constructed by cloning the thurincin H native promoter,thnA1, and a Cry protein terminator into theEscherichia coli-B. thuringiensisshuttle vector pHT315. Thirty-three different pGW133 variants, each containing a different point mutation in thethnA1gene, were generated and separately transformed intoB. thuringiensisSF361 ΔthnA1ΔthnA2ΔthnA3. Those site-directed mutants contained either a single radical or conservative amino acid substitution on the thioether linkage-forming positions or a radical substitution on all other nonalanine amino acids. The bacteriocin activities ofB. thuringiensisSF361 ΔthnA1ΔthnA2ΔthnA3carrying different pGW133 variants against three different indicator strains were subsequently compared.


Insects ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mikel Domínguez-Arrizabalaga ◽  
Maite Villanueva ◽  
Ana Beatriz Fernandez ◽  
Primitivo Caballero

The genome of the Bacillus thuringiensis BM311.1 strain was sequenced and assembled in 359 contigs containing a total of 6,390,221 bp. The plasmidic ORF of a putative cry gene from this strain was identified as a potential novel Cry protein of 1138 amino acid residues with a 98% identity compared to Cry7Aa1 and a predicted molecular mass of 129.4 kDa. The primary structure of Cry7Aa2, which had eight conserved blocks and the classical structure of three domains, differed in 28 amino acid residues from that of Cry7Aa1. The cry7Aa2 gene was amplified by PCR and then expressed in the acrystalliferous strain BMB171. SDS-PAGE analysis confirmed the predicted molecular mass for the Cry7Aa2 protein and revealed that after in vitro trypsin incubation, the protein was degraded to a toxin of 62 kDa. However, when treated with digestive fluids from Leptinotarsa decemlineata larvae, one major proteinase-resistant fragment of slightly smaller size was produced. The spore and crystal mixture produced by the wild-type BM311.1 strain against L. decemlineata neonate larvae resulted in a LC50 value of 18.8 μg/mL, which was statistically similar to the estimated LC50 of 20.8 μg/mL for the recombinant BMB17-Cry7Aa2 strain. In addition, when this novel toxin was activated in vitro with commercial trypsin, the LC50 value was reduced 3.8-fold to LC50 = 4.9 μg/mL. The potential advantages of Cry7Aa2 protoxin compared to Cry7Aa1 protoxin when used in the control of insect pests are discussed.


1990 ◽  
Vol 36 (12) ◽  
pp. 879-884 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolyn A. Stock ◽  
Thomas J. McLoughlin ◽  
Janet A. Klein ◽  
Michael J. Adang

An insecticidal crystal protein gene, cryIA(C), from Bacillus thuringiensis HD-1 was cloned into a broad host range vector, pSUP204, and the resulting plasmid, pSUP89A, was conjugated into a plant-colonizing bacterium, Pseudomonas cepacia 526. Southern blot analysis detected the presence of the cry gene in Pseudomonas cepacia 526 transconjugants. Production of a truncated insecticidal crystal protein in Pseudomonas cepacia was detected by Western blotting and ELISA techniques and was found to have insecticidal activity against the tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta, in an artificial diet assay. We also followed the establishment of the Pseudomonas cepacia 526/Bt transconjugant on axenically grown tobacco plants and found that approximately 1% of the Pseudomonas cells retained pSUP89A 3 days after application. In spite of this instability, treated tobacco plants were protected from Manduca sexta infestation. Key words: Bacillus thuringiensis, Pseudomonas cepacia, insecticidal crystal protein, Cry protein.


Toxins ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jingtong Hou ◽  
Ruth Cong ◽  
Michi Izumi-Willcoxon ◽  
Hana Ali ◽  
Yi Zheng ◽  
...  

A novel Bacillus thuringiensis Cry protein, Cry8Hb, active against Diabrotica virgifera virgifera (Western corn rootworm, WCRW) was discovered. Unexpectedly, the anti-rootworm activity of the Cry8Hb toxin was enhanced significantly by fusing Escherichia coli maltose binding protein (MBP) to this Cry toxin. While the exact mechanism of the activity enhancement remains indefinite, it is probable that the enhancement is a result of increased solubility of the MBP-Cry8Hb fusion in the rootworm midgut. This hypothesis was examined using a synthetic Cry3 protein called IP3-1, which was not soluble at a neutral pH like Cry8Hb and marginally active to WCRW. When IP3-1 was fused to MBP, its anti-WCRW activity was enhanced 13-fold. To further test the hypothesis, DNA shuffling was performed on IP3-1 to increase the solubility without MBP. Screening of shuffled libraries found six new IP3 variants showing very high anti-WCRW activity without MBP. Sequence and 3D structure analysis of those highly active, shuffled IP3 variants revealed several charge-altering mutations such as Lys to Glu on the putative MBP-attaching side of the IP3 molecule. It is likely that those mutations make the protein acidic to substitute the functions of MBP including enhancing the solubility of IP3 at a neutral pH.


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Di Qin ◽  
Xiao-Yi Liu ◽  
Cristina Miceli ◽  
Qi Zhang ◽  
Pi-wu Wang

Abstract Background Cry8-like from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) encodes an insecticidal crystal (Cry) protein. Holotrichia parallela (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidae), commonly known as the dark black chafer, is a troublesome pest of soybean (Glycine max). To test whether cry8-like can confer resistance against H. parallela to soybean, we introduced cry8-like from the Bt strain HBF-18 into soybean cultivar Jinong 28. Results Quantitative reverse transcription-PCR analysis demonstrated that cry8-like was expressed most highly in soybean leaves. In addition, Southern blot assays revealed that one copy of the integrated fragment was present in the transformed plants. Eight independent cry8-like transgenic lines were subsequently fed on by H. parallela. Under H. parallela feeding stress, the survival rates of the non-transgenic plants were 92% lower than those of the transgenic plants. The mortality rate of H. parallela increased when the larvae fed on the roots of T1 transgenic soybean plants. Moreover, the surviving larvae were deformed, and their growth was inhibited. Conclusions Collectively, our data suggest that transgenic soybean plants expressing the cry8-like gene are more resistant to H. parallela than non-transgenic plants and that transgenic expression of the cry8-like gene may represent a promising strategy for engineering pest tolerance. The events generated in this study could thus be utilized in soybean breeding programs.


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