Nucleotide sequence of the gene encoding novel delta-endotoxin from Bacillus thuringiensis serovar japonensis strain Buibui specific to scarabaeid beetles

The elimination of DNA from the Cry toxin-DNA complex is a necessary step in the mode of action of the Cry8 toxin

Several crystal (Cry) proteins are known to occur as DNA-protein complexes. However, the role of the DNA associated with the activated toxin in the mechanism of action of the Cry toxin has long been ignored. Here, we focused on the DNA-activated Cry toxin complex. Both forms of the Cry8Ca2 and Cry8Ea1 toxins, i.e., with or without bound DNA, were separately obtained. Size-exclusion chromatography analysis indicated that the Cry8Ca2 toxin-DNA complex has a tight or compact structure. The Cry8Ca2 toxin-DNA complex is more likely to move toward the air/water interface and is more hydrophobic than the toxin without DNA. Competitive binding assays indicated that the Cry8Ca2 and Cry8Ea1 toxins without DNA specifically bind to the midgut of Anomala corpulenta and Holotrichia parallela larvae, respectively. In contrast, the association of DNA with each toxin might result in the nonspecific recognition of the Cry toxin and its target receptor in the insect midgut. The association of the DNA fragment with the Cry8 toxin was shown to protect the Cry protein from digestion by proteases. Based on our results, we propose an additional step in the mechanism of action of the Cry8 toxin and elucidate the function of the associated DNA as well as the importance of the removal of this DNA for the insecticidal activity of the toxin.

Occurrence, characterization and insecticidal activity of Bacillus thuringiensis strains isolated from argan fields in Morocco

Soils collected from five locations in the argan forest (an endemic plant) in Morocco were used to form the first collection of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) strains from this area (58 strains). Here we found that the argan forest is a major source of Bt, as 90.62% of the samples contained Bt strains. These strains produced mainly spherical or irregular crystals that in some cases remained adhered to the spore after cell lysis. There was no strain producing bipyramidal crystals, suggesting the absence of strains bearing crv1 genes. This was confirmed by PCR analysis using eight primer pairs that can potentially detect 13 different groups of cry and cyt genes. Strains containing cry7/8 were the most abundant (25.53%), followed by strains harbouring cry9A (14.89%), cry11 (8.51%) and cry4 (4.25%). The mixtures of spores and crystals as well as culture supernatants were assayed for toxicity towards Ceratitis capitata (Medfly), showing up to 30% mortality. Our findings suggest that the argan region is a suitable target for future and wider screening programmes looking for strains bearing toxins or combinations of them to develop more efficient Bt-based formulates.

Crystal structure of Bacillus thuringiensis Cry8Ea1: An insecticidal toxin toxic to underground pests, the larvae of Holotrichia parallela

Crystal (Cry) proteins belong to an insect toxin family encoded and expressed by a variety of Bacillus thuringiensis isolates, and are named due to their in vivo auto-crystallization abilities. To kill the infected host insects, protease-activated Cry toxins should firstly be recognized by certain membrane receptors on the surface of insect midgut epithelial cells and consequently assemble together as lethal transmembrane pores. Here we report the 2.2-A crystal structure of Cry8Ea1 toxin, a Cry family member specifically toxic to the underground larvae of Holotrichia parallela. Superimposition of the domain I from Cry8Ea1 and other structurally characterized Cry toxins reveals an identical surface proline residue and a highly conserved kink of a helix, both of which have drawn comparatively little attention from previous researchers. Further structural analysis and functional studies suggest that both the proline and the helix kink might be essential in exposing a helix-helix hairpin, which is believed to be the very first step in the well-known "umbrella" model of the membrane penetration. In summary, we propose a plausible model of the initiation of Cry toxin domain I disassembly before membrane penetration and pore formation.

Improving toxicity of Bacillus thuringiensis strain contains the cry8Ca gene specific to Anomala corpulenta larvae

The cry8C-type gene designated cry8Ca2, which was cloned and sequenced from a Bacillus thuringiensis isolate HBF-1 in China, consisted of an open reading frame of 3483 bp encoding a protein of 1160 amino-acid residues. Sequence analysis showed that the Cry8Ca2 protoxin of 130.5 kDa had 99.9% sequence homology with the previously reported Cry8Ca1 protein, with one mismatch between the two amino-acid sequences. When the Cry8Ca2 toxin was expressed in a crystal-negative strain of B. thuringiensis (HD-73(-)), elliptical crystals were produced. Cell extracts from this recombinant strain showed insecticidal activity against Anomala corpulenta larva. Mutant cry8Ca2 genes, produced by polymerase chain reaction amplification with Taq DNA polymerase, were used to develop recombinant B. thuringiensis strains. Mutants producing higher levels of insecticidal activity were identified by bioassay. Thirty-five mutants forming crystals were characterized, and two of them showed significantly increased insecticidal activity against A. corpulenta larva. The 50% lethality concentrations (LC(50)) of the two mutants were 0.2334 x 10(8) and 0.2591 x 10(8) colony-forming units g(-1), considerably lower than the LC(50) of the wild-type strain HBF-1 (0.9583 x 10(8) CFU g(-1)) and that of B. thuringiensis serovar japonensis strain Buibui (1.0752 x 10(8) CFU g(-1)).

Transcription of the insecticidal crystal protein genes of Bacillus thuringiensis

Production of a large amount of insecticidal crystal proteins encoded on large plasmids is largely dependent upon the mother cell, Bacillus thuringiensis (B. thuringiensis, also Bt), specific transcription systems attributable to sporulation. In the middle stages of sporulation, cry4A is most actively transcribed from the promoter cry4A-P1. The proximal transcriptional start point of cry4A, which is under the control of the promoter P1, is used in Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis) in the middle stage of sporulation. The nucleotide sequence that determines the cry4A-P1 promoter is homologous to the consensus sequence for the promoter of sigma E-specific genes in B. subtilis, and to those promoters of the insecticidal protein genes that are efficiently transcribed in vitro with the RNA polymerase E sigma 35 isolated from B. thuringiensis. The sigma factor sigma 35 of B. thuringiensis is highly homologous and functionally equivalent to sigma E of B. subtilis. These results suggest that the cry4A transcription from P1 is under the control of sigma E in B. subtilis, and under the control of sigma 35 in B. thuringiensis.

Revision of the nomenclature for the Bacillus thuringiensis pesticidal crystal proteins

The crystal proteins of Bacillus thuringiensis have been extensively studied because of their pesticidal properties and their high natural levels of production. The increasingly rapid characterization of new crystal protein genes, triggered by an effort to discover proteins with new pesticidal properties, has resulted in a variety of sequences and activities that no longer fit the original nomenclature system proposed in 1989. Bacillus thuringiensis pesticidal crystal protein (Cry and Cyt) nomenclature was initially based on insecticidal activity for the primary ranking criterion. Many exceptions to this systematic arrangement have become apparent, however, making the nomenclature system inconsistent. Additionally, the original nomenclature, with four activity-based primary ranks for 13 genes, did not anticipate the current 73 holotype sequences that form many more than the original four subgroups. A new nomenclature, based on hierarchical clustering using amino acid sequence identity, is proposed. Roman numerals have been exchanged for Arabic numerals in the primary rank (e.g., Cry1Aa) to better accommodate the large number of expected new sequences. In this proposal, 133 crystal proteins comprising 24 primary ranks are systematically arranged.