1
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Rakesh V, Kalia VK, Ghosh A. Diversity of transgenes in sustainable management of insect pests. Transgenic Res 2023; 32:351-381. [PMID: 37573273 DOI: 10.1007/s11248-023-00362-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2023] [Accepted: 07/28/2023] [Indexed: 08/14/2023]
Abstract
Insecticidal transgenes, when incorporated and expressed in plants, confer resistance against insects by producing several products having insecticidal properties. Protease inhibitors, lectins, amylase inhibitors, and chitinase genes are associated with the natural defenses developed by plants to counter insect attacks. Several toxin genes are also derived from spiders and scorpions for protection against insects. Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner is a microbial source of insecticidal toxins. Several methods have facilitated the large-scale production of transgenic plants. Bt-derived cry, cyt, vip, and sip genes, plant-derived genes such as lectins, protease inhibitors, and alpha-amylase inhibitors, insect cell wall-degrading enzymes like chitinase and some proteins like arcelins, plant defensins, and ribosome-inactivating proteins have been successfully utilized to impart resistance to insects. Besides, transgenic plants expressing double-stranded RNA have been developed with enhanced resistance. However, the long-term effects of transgenes on insect resistance, the environment, and human health must be thoroughly investigated before they are made available for commercial planting. In this chapter, the present status, prospects, and future scope of transgenes for insect pest management have been summarized and discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- V Rakesh
- Division of Entomology, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, 110012, India
- Insect Vector Laboratory, Advanced Centre for Plant Virology, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, 110012, India
| | - Vinay K Kalia
- Division of Entomology, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, 110012, India
| | - Amalendu Ghosh
- Insect Vector Laboratory, Advanced Centre for Plant Virology, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, 110012, India.
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2
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Fonseca FCDA, Antonino JD, de Moura SM, Rodrigues-Silva PL, Macedo LLP, Gomes Júnior JE, Lourenço-Tessuti IT, Lucena WA, Morgante CV, Ribeiro TP, Monnerat RG, Rodrigues MA, Cuccovia IM, Mattar Silva MC, Grossi-de-Sa MF. In vivo and in silico comparison analyses of Cry toxin activities toward the sugarcane giant borer. BULLETIN OF ENTOMOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2023; 113:335-346. [PMID: 36883802 DOI: 10.1017/s000748532200061x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
The sugarcane giant borer, Telchin licus licus, is an insect pest that causes significant losses in sugarcane crops and in the sugar-alcohol sector. Chemical and manual control methods are not effective. As an alternative, in the current study, we have screened Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) Cry toxins with high toxicity against this insect. Bioassays were conducted to determine the activity of four Cry toxins (Cry1A (a, b, and c) and Cry2Aa) against neonate T. licus licus larvae. Notably, the Cry1A family toxins had the lowest LC50 values, in which Cry1Ac presented 2.1-fold higher activity than Cry1Aa, 1.7-fold larger than Cry1Ab, and 9.7-fold larger than Cry2Aa toxins. In silico analyses were performed as a perspective to understand putative interactions between T. licus licus receptors and Cry1A toxins. The molecular dynamics and docking analyses for three putative aminopeptidase N (APN) receptors (TlAPN1, TlAPN3, and TlAPN4) revealed evidence for the amino acids that may be involved in the toxin-receptor interactions. Notably, the properties of Cry1Ac point to an interaction site that increases the toxin's affinity for the receptor and likely potentiate toxicity. The interacting amino acid residues predicted for Cry1Ac in this work are probably those shared by the other Cry1A toxins for the same region of APNs. Thus, the presented data extend the existing knowledge of the effects of Cry toxins on T. licus licus and should be considered in further development of transgenic sugarcane plants resistant to this major occurring insect pest in sugarcane fields.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fernando Campos de Assis Fonseca
- Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology, Brasília, DF, Brazil
- Biology Cellular Department, Federal University of Brasília (UnB), Brasília, DF, Brazil
- Federal Institut of Goias (IFG), Águas Lindas, GO, Brazil
| | - José Dijair Antonino
- Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology, Brasília, DF, Brazil
- Biology Cellular Department, Federal University of Brasília (UnB), Brasília, DF, Brazil
- Federal Rural University of Pernambuco (UFRPE), Recife, PE, Brazil
- National Institute of Science and Technology, INCT PlantStress Biotech, Embrapa, Brazil
| | - Stéfanie Menezes de Moura
- Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology, Brasília, DF, Brazil
- National Institute of Science and Technology, INCT PlantStress Biotech, Embrapa, Brazil
| | - Paolo Lucas Rodrigues-Silva
- Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology, Brasília, DF, Brazil
- National Institute of Science and Technology, INCT PlantStress Biotech, Embrapa, Brazil
| | - Leonardo Lima Pepino Macedo
- Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology, Brasília, DF, Brazil
- National Institute of Science and Technology, INCT PlantStress Biotech, Embrapa, Brazil
| | - José Edílson Gomes Júnior
- Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology, Brasília, DF, Brazil
- Biology Cellular Department, Federal University of Brasília (UnB), Brasília, DF, Brazil
| | - Isabela Tristan Lourenço-Tessuti
- Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology, Brasília, DF, Brazil
- National Institute of Science and Technology, INCT PlantStress Biotech, Embrapa, Brazil
| | - Wagner Alexandre Lucena
- Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology, Brasília, DF, Brazil
- National Institute of Science and Technology, INCT PlantStress Biotech, Embrapa, Brazil
| | - Carolina Viana Morgante
- Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology, Brasília, DF, Brazil
- National Institute of Science and Technology, INCT PlantStress Biotech, Embrapa, Brazil
- Embrapa Semiarid, Petrolina, PE, Brazil
| | - Thuanne Pires Ribeiro
- Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology, Brasília, DF, Brazil
- National Institute of Science and Technology, INCT PlantStress Biotech, Embrapa, Brazil
| | | | | | | | - Maria Cristina Mattar Silva
- Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology, Brasília, DF, Brazil
- National Institute of Science and Technology, INCT PlantStress Biotech, Embrapa, Brazil
| | - Maria Fatima Grossi-de-Sa
- Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology, Brasília, DF, Brazil
- National Institute of Science and Technology, INCT PlantStress Biotech, Embrapa, Brazil
- Catholic University of Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil
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3
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Barbhuiya TK, Fisher M, Boittier ED, Bolderson E, O'Byrne KJ, Richard DJ, Adams MN, Gandhi NS. Structural investigation of CDCA3-Cdh1 protein-protein interactions using in vitro studies and molecular dynamics simulation. Protein Sci 2023; 32:e4572. [PMID: 36691744 PMCID: PMC9926468 DOI: 10.1002/pro.4572] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2022] [Revised: 01/11/2023] [Accepted: 01/16/2023] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
The anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C) ubiquitin ligase and its cofactor, Cdh1, regulate the expression of several cell-cycle proteins and their functions during mitosis. Levels of the protein cell division cycle-associated protein 3 (CDCA3), which is functionally required for mitotic entry, are regulated by APC/CCdh1 . CDCA3 is an intrinsically disordered protein and contains both C-terminal KEN box and D-box recognition motifs, enabling binding to Cdh1. Our previous findings demonstrate that CDCA3 has a phosphorylation-dependent non-canonical ABBA-like motif within the linker region bridging these two recognition motifs and is required for efficient binding to Cdh1. Here, we sought to identify and further characterize additional residues that participate within this ABBA-like motif using detailed in vitro experiments and in silico modeling studies. We identified the role of H-bonds, hydrophobic and ionic interactions across the CDCA3 ABBA-like motif in the linker region between KEN and D-box motifs. This linker region adopts a well-defined structure when bound to Cdh1 in the presence of phosphorylation. Upon alanine mutation, the structure of this region is lost, leading to higher flexibility, and alteration in affinities due to binding to alternate sites on Cdh1. Our findings identify roles for the anchoring residues in the non-canonical ABBA-like motif to promote binding to the APC/CCdh1 and regulation of CDCA3 protein levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tabassum Khair Barbhuiya
- Centre for Genomics and Personalised Health, and School of Chemistry and Physics, Faculty of Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.,Cancer and Ageing Research Program, Woolloongabba, Queensland, Australia
| | - Mark Fisher
- Cancer and Ageing Research Program, Woolloongabba, Queensland, Australia.,Centre for Genomics and Personalised Health, and School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, Queensland, Australia
| | - Eric D Boittier
- Department of Chemistry, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Emma Bolderson
- Cancer and Ageing Research Program, Woolloongabba, Queensland, Australia.,Centre for Genomics and Personalised Health, and School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, Queensland, Australia
| | - Kenneth J O'Byrne
- Cancer and Ageing Research Program, Woolloongabba, Queensland, Australia.,Centre for Genomics and Personalised Health, and School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, Queensland, Australia
| | - Derek J Richard
- Cancer and Ageing Research Program, Woolloongabba, Queensland, Australia.,Centre for Genomics and Personalised Health, and School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, Queensland, Australia
| | - Mark Nathaniel Adams
- Cancer and Ageing Research Program, Woolloongabba, Queensland, Australia.,Centre for Genomics and Personalised Health, and School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, Queensland, Australia
| | - Neha S Gandhi
- Centre for Genomics and Personalised Health, and School of Chemistry and Physics, Faculty of Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.,Cancer and Ageing Research Program, Woolloongabba, Queensland, Australia
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4
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Vílchez S. Making 3D-Cry Toxin Mutants: Much More Than a Tool of Understanding Toxins Mechanism of Action. Toxins (Basel) 2020; 12:toxins12090600. [PMID: 32948025 PMCID: PMC7551160 DOI: 10.3390/toxins12090600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2020] [Revised: 08/15/2020] [Accepted: 08/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
3D-Cry toxins, produced by the entomopathogenic bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis, have been extensively mutated in order to elucidate their elegant and complex mechanism of action necessary to kill susceptible insects. Together with the study of the resistant insects, 3D-Cry toxin mutants represent one of the pillars to understanding how these toxins exert their activity on their host. The principle is simple, if an amino acid is involved and essential in the mechanism of action, when substituted, the activity of the toxin will be diminished. However, some of the constructed 3D-Cry toxin mutants have shown an enhanced activity against their target insects compared to the parental toxins, suggesting that it is possible to produce novel versions of the natural toxins with an improved performance in the laboratory. In this report, all mutants with an enhanced activity obtained by accident in mutagenesis studies, together with all the variants obtained by rational design or by directed mutagenesis, were compiled. A description of the improved mutants was made considering their historical context and the parallel development of the protein engineering techniques that have been used to obtain them. This report demonstrates that artificial 3D-Cry toxins made in laboratories are a real alternative to natural toxins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susana Vílchez
- Institute of Biotechnology, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology I, Faculty of Science, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
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5
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Gao M, Hu X, Zhang X, Zhong J, Lu L, Liu Y, Dong S, Wang Y, Liu X. Identification of a Cry1Fa binding site of cadherin in Plutella xylostella through fragment exchanging and molecular docking methods. Int J Biol Macromol 2020; 146:62-69. [PMID: 31836394 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2019.12.063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2019] [Revised: 12/05/2019] [Accepted: 12/08/2019] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Binding to the cadherin in target pests is the primary step in the action mechanism of Cry toxins, but little is known regarding the interaction of Cry1Fa with cadherin. Our previous study suggested that a Plutella xylostella cadherin fragment (PxCad-TBR) can bind to Cry1Fa, while its homologous fragment (HaCad-TBR) in Helicoverpa armigera cannot. In this study, we expressed two cadherin fragments that combine parts of PxCad-TBR and HaCad-TBR in Escherichia coli and tested their binding to the Cry1Fa. The results showed that the fragment containing amino acids T1202-A1341 of P. xylostella cadherin showed binding ability to Cry1Fa. Furthermore, two regions (V1219-E1233 and D1326-F1337) were predicted as hot spot regions that are involved in the interaction of Cry1Fa and PxCad-TBR with computer-aided molecular docking. We then constructed two PxCad-TBR mutations by fragment exchanging based on the molecular docking results and verified the mutations' binding abilities to the Cry1Fa. The results showed that the region that contains amino acids D1326-F1337 was one important binding site to Cry1Fa in P. xylostella cadherin. These results suggested that a combination of computer-aided molecular docking and fragment exchanging is an effective way to locate the key binding sites of Bt toxins in receptors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meijing Gao
- Key Lab of Food Quality and Safety of Jiangsu Province-State Key Laboratory Breeding Base, Institute of Food Safety and Nutrition, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China
| | - Xiaodan Hu
- Key Lab of Food Quality and Safety of Jiangsu Province-State Key Laboratory Breeding Base, Institute of Food Safety and Nutrition, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China
| | - Xiao Zhang
- Key Lab of Food Quality and Safety of Jiangsu Province-State Key Laboratory Breeding Base, Institute of Food Safety and Nutrition, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China
| | - Jianfeng Zhong
- Key Lab of Food Quality and Safety of Jiangsu Province-State Key Laboratory Breeding Base, Institute of Food Safety and Nutrition, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China
| | - Lina Lu
- Key Lab of Food Quality and Safety of Jiangsu Province-State Key Laboratory Breeding Base, Institute of Food Safety and Nutrition, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China
| | - Yuan Liu
- Key Lab of Food Quality and Safety of Jiangsu Province-State Key Laboratory Breeding Base, Institute of Food Safety and Nutrition, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China
| | - Sa Dong
- School of Horticulture and Plant Protection, Yangzhou University, China
| | - Yun Wang
- Horticulture Dept, Jinling Institute of Technology, Nanjing, China
| | - Xianjin Liu
- Key Lab of Food Quality and Safety of Jiangsu Province-State Key Laboratory Breeding Base, Institute of Food Safety and Nutrition, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China.
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6
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Neco AHB, Pinto-Junior VR, Araripe DA, Santiago MQ, Osterne VJS, Lossio CF, Nobre CAS, Oliveira MV, Silva MTL, Martins MGQ, Cajazeiras JB, Marques GFO, Costa DR, Nascimento KS, Assreuy AMS, Cavada BS. Structural analysis, molecular docking and molecular dynamics of an edematogenic lectin from Centrolobium microchaete seeds. Int J Biol Macromol 2018; 117:124-133. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2018.05.166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2018] [Revised: 05/11/2018] [Accepted: 05/23/2018] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
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7
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Expression of hybrid fusion protein (Cry1Ac::ASAL) in transgenic rice plants imparts resistance against multiple insect pests. Sci Rep 2018; 8:8458. [PMID: 29855556 PMCID: PMC5981619 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-26881-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2018] [Accepted: 05/21/2018] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
To evolve rice varieties resistant to different groups of insect pests a fusion gene, comprising DI and DII domains of Bt Cry1Ac and carbohydrate binding domain of garlic lectin (ASAL), was constructed. Transgenic rice lines were generated and evaluated to assess the efficacy of Cry1Ac::ASAL fusion protein against three major pests, viz., yellow stem borer (YSB), leaf folder (LF) and brown planthopper (BPH). Molecular analyses of transgenic plants revealed stable integration and expression of the fusion gene. In planta insect bioassays on transgenics disclosed enhanced levels of resistance compared to the control plants. High insect mortality of YSB, LF and BPH was observed on transgenics compared to that of control plants. Furthermore, honeydew assays revealed significant decreases in the feeding ability of BPH on transgenic plants as compared to the controls. Ligand blot analysis, using BPH insects fed on cry1Ac::asal transgenic rice plants, revealed a modified receptor protein-binding pattern owing to its ability to bind to additional receptors in insects. The overall results authenticate that Cry1Ac::ASAL protein is endowed with remarkable entomotoxic effects against major lepidopteran and hemipteran insects. As such, the fusion gene appears promising and can be introduced into various other crops to control multiple insect pests.
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8
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Hu X, Zhang X, Zhong J, Liu Y, Zhang C, Xie Y, Lin M, Xu C, Lu L, Zhu Q, Liu X. Expression of Cry1Ac toxin-binding region in Plutella xyllostella cadherin-like receptor and studying their interaction mode by molecular docking and site-directed mutagenesis. Int J Biol Macromol 2018; 111:822-831. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2017.12.135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2017] [Revised: 12/15/2017] [Accepted: 12/25/2017] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
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9
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Computational and biological characterization of fusion proteins of two insecticidal proteins for control of insect pests. Sci Rep 2018; 8:4837. [PMID: 29556063 PMCID: PMC5859112 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-23138-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2017] [Accepted: 03/02/2018] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Sucking pests pose a serious agricultural challenge, as available transgenic technologies such as Bacillus thuringiensis crystal toxins (Bt) are not effective against them. One approach is to produce fusion protein toxins for the control of these pests. Two protein toxins, Hvt (ω-atracotoxin from Hadronyche versuta) and onion leaf lectin, were translationally fused to evaluate the negative effects of fusion proteins on Phenacoccus solenopsis (mealybug), a phloem-feeding insect pest. Hvt was cloned both N-terminally (HL) and then C-terminally (LH) in the fusion protein constructs, which were expressed transiently in Nicotiana tabacum using a Potato Virus X (PVX) vector. The HL fusion protein was found to be more effective against P. solenopsis, with an 83% mortality rate, as compared to the LH protein, which caused 65% mortality. Hvt and lectin alone caused 42% and 45%, respectively, under the same conditions. Computational studies of both fusion proteins showed that the HL protein is more stable than the LH protein. Together, these results demonstrate that translational fusion of two insecticidal proteins improved the insecticidal activity relative to each protein individually and could be expressed in transgenic plants for effective control of sucking pests.
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10
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Structural classification of insecticidal proteins – Towards an in silico characterisation of novel toxins. J Invertebr Pathol 2017; 142:16-22. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jip.2016.07.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2016] [Revised: 06/01/2016] [Accepted: 07/28/2016] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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11
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Zghal RZ, Elleuch J, Ben Ali M, Darriet F, Rebaï A, Chandre F, Jaoua S, Tounsi S. Towards novel Cry toxins with enhanced toxicity/broader: a new chimeric Cry4Ba / Cry1Ac toxin. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2016; 101:113-122. [PMID: 27538933 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-016-7766-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2016] [Accepted: 07/20/2016] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Attempts have been made to express or to merge different Cry proteins in order to enhance toxic effects against various insects. Cry1A proteins of Bacillus thuringiensis form a typical bipyramidal parasporal crystal and their protoxins contain a highly conserved C-terminal region. A chimerical gene, called cry(4Ba-1Ac), formed by a fusion of the N-terminus part of cry4Ba and the C-terminus part of cry1Ac, was constructed. Its transformation to an acrystalliferous B. thuringiensis strain showed that it was expressed as a chimerical protein of 116 kDa, assembled in spherical to amorphous parasporal crystals. The chimerical gene cry(4Ba-1Ac) was introduced in a B. thuringiensis kurstaki strain. In the generated crystals of the recombinant strain, the presence of Cry(4Ba-1Ac) was evidenced by MALDI-TOF. The recombinant strain showed an important increase of the toxicity against Culex pipiens larvae (LC50 = 0.84 mg l-1 ± 0.08) compared to the wild type strain through the synergistic activity of Cry2Aa with Cry(4Ba-1Ac). The enhancement of toxicity of B. thuringiensis kurstaki expressing Cry(4Ba-1Ac) compared to that expressing the native toxin Cry4Ba, might be related to its a typical crystallization properties. The developed fusion protein could serve as a potent toxin against different pests of mosquitoes and major crop plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raida Zribi Zghal
- Laboratory of Biopesticides, Centre of Biotechnology of Sfax, University of Sfax, P.O. Box "1177", 3018, Sfax, Tunisia.
| | - Jihen Elleuch
- Laboratory of Biopesticides, Centre of Biotechnology of Sfax, University of Sfax, P.O. Box "1177", 3018, Sfax, Tunisia
| | - Mamdouh Ben Ali
- Laboratoire de Microorganismes et de Biomolécules, Centre de Biotechnologie de Sfax, Université de Sfax, Sfax, Tunisia
| | - Frédéric Darriet
- Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), UMR MIVEGEC (UM1-UM2-CNRS 5290-IRD 224) Maladies Infectieuses et Vecteurs, Ecologie, Génétique, Evolution et Contrôle, Laboratoire de Lutte contre les Insectes Nuisibles (LIN), Montpellier, France
| | - Ahmed Rebaï
- Research Group on Molecular and Cellular Screening Processes, Laboratory of Microorganisms and Biomolecules, Centre of Biotechnology of Sfax, Sfax, Tunisia
| | - Fabrice Chandre
- Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), UMR MIVEGEC (UM1-UM2-CNRS 5290-IRD 224) Maladies Infectieuses et Vecteurs, Ecologie, Génétique, Evolution et Contrôle, Laboratoire de Lutte contre les Insectes Nuisibles (LIN), Montpellier, France
| | - Samir Jaoua
- Biological & Environmental Sciences Department, College of Arts and Sciences, Qatar University, P.O. Box: 2713, Doha, Qatar
| | - Slim Tounsi
- Laboratory of Biopesticides, Centre of Biotechnology of Sfax, University of Sfax, P.O. Box "1177", 3018, Sfax, Tunisia
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12
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Agostino M, Mancera RL, Ramsland PA, Fernández-Recio J. Optimization of protein-protein docking for predicting Fc-protein interactions. J Mol Recognit 2016; 29:555-568. [PMID: 27445195 DOI: 10.1002/jmr.2555] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2016] [Revised: 06/12/2016] [Accepted: 06/14/2016] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
The antibody crystallizable fragment (Fc) is recognized by effector proteins as part of the immune system. Pathogens produce proteins that bind Fc in order to subvert or evade the immune response. The structural characterization of the determinants of Fc-protein association is essential to improve our understanding of the immune system at the molecular level and to develop new therapeutic agents. Furthermore, Fc-binding peptides and proteins are frequently used to purify therapeutic antibodies. Although several structures of Fc-protein complexes are available, numerous others have not yet been determined. Protein-protein docking could be used to investigate Fc-protein complexes; however, improved approaches are necessary to efficiently model such cases. In this study, a docking-based structural bioinformatics approach is developed for predicting the structures of Fc-protein complexes. Based on the available set of X-ray structures of Fc-protein complexes, three regions of the Fc, loosely corresponding to three turns within the structure, were defined as containing the essential features for protein recognition and used as restraints to filter the initial docking search. Rescoring the filtered poses with an optimal scoring strategy provided a success rate of approximately 80% of the test cases examined within the top ranked 20 poses, compared to approximately 20% by the initial unrestrained docking. The developed docking protocol provides a significant improvement over the initial unrestrained docking and will be valuable for predicting the structures of currently undetermined Fc-protein complexes, as well as in the design of peptides and proteins that target Fc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark Agostino
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute and Curtin Institute for Computation, Curtin University, Perth, Australia.,Joint BSC-CRG-IRB Research Program in Computational Biology, Life Sciences Department, Barcelona Supercomputing Center, Barcelona, Spain.,Centre for Biomedical Research, Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Ricardo L Mancera
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute and Curtin Institute for Computation, Curtin University, Perth, Australia
| | - Paul A Ramsland
- Centre for Biomedical Research, Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Australia. .,School of Science, RMIT University, Bundoora, Australia. .,Department of Surgery Austin Health, University of Melbourne, Heidelberg, Australia. .,Department of Immunology, Monash University, Alfred Medical Research and Education Precinct, Melbourne, Australia.
| | - Juan Fernández-Recio
- Joint BSC-CRG-IRB Research Program in Computational Biology, Life Sciences Department, Barcelona Supercomputing Center, Barcelona, Spain.
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13
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Tajne S, Boddupally D, Sadumpati V, Vudem DR, Khareedu VR. Synthetic fusion-protein containing domains of Bt Cry1Ac and Allium sativum lectin (ASAL) conferred enhanced insecticidal activity against major lepidopteran pests. J Biotechnol 2014; 171:71-5. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiotec.2013.11.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2013] [Revised: 11/26/2013] [Accepted: 11/30/2013] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
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14
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Structural analysis and molecular dynamics simulations of novel δ-endotoxin Cry1Id from Bacillus thuringiensis to pave the way for development of novel fusion proteins against insect pests of crops. J Mol Model 2013; 19:5301-16. [PMID: 24154610 DOI: 10.1007/s00894-013-2010-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2013] [Accepted: 09/09/2013] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
The theoretical three-dimensional structure of a novel δ-endotoxin Cry1Id (81 kDa) belonging to Cry1I class, toxic to many of the lepidopteran pests has been investigated through comparative modeling. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations was carried out to characterize its structural and dynamical features at 10 ns in explicit solvent using the GROMACS version 4.5.4. Finally the simulated model was validated by the SAVES, WHAT IF, MetaMQAP, ProQ, ModFOLD and MolProbity servers. Despite low sequence identity with its structural homologs, Cry1Id not only resembles the previously reported Cry structures but also shares the common five conserved blocks of amino acid residues. Although the domain II of Cry1Id superpose well with its closest structural homolog Cry8Ea1, variation of amino acids and length in the apical loop2 of domain II was observed. In this work, we have hypothesized that the variations in apical loop2 might be the sole factor for providing variable surface accessibility to Cry1Id protein that could be important in receptor recognition. MD simulation showed the proposed endotoxin retains its stable conformation in aqueous solution. The result from this study is expected to aid in the development hybrid Cry proteins and new potent fusion proteins with novel specificities against different insect pests for improved pest management of crop plants.
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Ebenezer KS, Nachimuthu R, Thiagarajan P, Velu RK. in silico identification of cross affinity towards Cry1Ac pesticidal protein with receptor enzyme in Bos taurus and sequence, structure analysis of crystal proteins for stability. Bioinformation 2013; 9:792-5. [PMID: 24023423 PMCID: PMC3766313 DOI: 10.6026/97320630009792] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2013] [Revised: 07/15/2013] [Accepted: 07/16/2013] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Any novel protein introduced into the GM crops need to be evaluated for cross affinity on living organisms. Many researchers are
currently focusing on the impact of Bacillus thuringiensis cotton on soil and microbial diversity by field experiments. In spite of this,
in silico approach might be helpful to elucidate the impact of cry genes. The crystal a protein which was produced by Bt at the time
of sporulation has been used as a biological pesticide to target the insectivorous pests like Cry1Ac for Helicoverpa armigera and
Cry2Ab for Spodoptera sp. and Heliothis sp. Here, we present the comprehensive in silico analysis of Cry1Ac and Cry2Ab proteins
with available in silico tools, databases and docking servers. Molecular docking of Cry1Ac with procarboxypeptidase from
Helicoverpa armigera and Cry1Ac with Leucine aminopeptidase from Bos taurus has showed the 125th amino acid position to be the
preference site of Cry1Ac protein. The structures were compared with each other and it showed 5% of similarity. The cross affinity
of this toxin that have confirmed the earlier reports of ill effects of Bt cotton consumed by cattle.
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Affiliation(s)
- King Solomon Ebenezer
- Rhizosphere Biology Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli - 620024, TamilNadu, India
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Multimodal protein constructs for herbivore insect control. Toxins (Basel) 2012; 4:455-75. [PMID: 22822457 PMCID: PMC3398420 DOI: 10.3390/toxins4060455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2012] [Revised: 06/01/2012] [Accepted: 06/05/2012] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Transgenic plants expressing combinations of microbial or plant pesticidal proteins represent a promising tool for the efficient, durable control of herbivorous insects. In this review we describe current strategies devised for the heterologous co-expression of pesticidal proteins in planta, some of which have already shown usefulness in plant protection. Emphasis is placed on protein engineering strategies involving the insertion of single DNA constructs within the host plant genome. Multimodal fusion proteins integrating complementary pesticidal functions along a unique polypeptide are first considered, taking into account the structural constraints associated with protein or protein domain grafting to biologically active proteins. Strategies that allow for the co- or post-translational release of two or more pesticidal proteins are then considered, including polyprotein precursors releasing free proteins upon proteolytic cleavage, and multicistronic transcripts for the parallel translation of single protein-encoding mRNA sequences.
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