A pair of adjacent genes, cry5Ad and orf2‐5Ad, encode the typical N‐and C‐terminal regions of a Cry5Aδ‐endotoxin as two separate proteins in Bacillus thuringiensis … (original) (raw)

Cloning, characterization, and expression of a new cry2Ab gene from Bacillus thuringiensis strain 14-1

Applied biochemistry and biotechnology, 2006

A new cry1Ab gene was cloned from the promising local isolate, DOR Bt-1, a Bacillus thuringiensis strain isolated from castor semilooper (Achaea janata L.) cadavers from castor bean (Ricinus communis L.) field. The nucleotide sequence of the cloned cry1Ab gene indicated that the open reading frame consisted of 3,465 bases encoding a protein of 1,155 amino acid residues with an estimated molecular weight of 130 kDa. Homology comparisons revealed that the deduced amino acid sequence of cry1Ab had a variation of seven amino acid residues compared to those of the known Cry1Ab proteins in the NCBI database and this gene has been designated as cry1Ab26 by the B. thuringiensis d-endotoxin Nomenclature Committee. cry1Ab26 was cloned into pET 29a(?) vector and expressed in E. coli strain BL21 (DE3) under the control of T7 promoter with IPTG induction. ELISA, SDS-PAGE, and Western blot analysis confirmed the expression of 130-kDa protein. Insect bioassays with neonate larvae of Helicoverpa armigera showed that the partially purified Cry1Ab26 caused 97 % mortality within 5 days of feeding.

Cry3Aa11: A New Cry3Aa δ-Endotoxin from a Local Isolate of Bacillus thuringiensis

Biotechnology Letters, 2005

A local isolate of Bacillus thuringiensis Mm2 had insecticidal activity against the larvae of Melolontha melolontha, Agelastica alni, Leptinotarsa decemlineata and Amphimallon solstitiale and produced a 65 kDa protein. SDS-PAGE profile of B. thuringiensis Mm2 was compared with those of 29 different Cry3Aa producers which verified Cry3Aa biosynthesis by the isolate. The cry3Aa gene of Mm2 was cloned, sequenced and the deduced amino acid sequence was compared with the cry3Aa sequences of ten different quaternary ranks. Its identity to these sequences ranged between 97.4% and 99.2%. The gene was next cloned into E. coli-Bacillus shuttle vector pNW33N and expressed at a low level in B. subtilis 168.

Optimised expression in Escherichia coli and purification of the functional form of the Bacillus thuringiensis Cry4Aa δ-endotoxin

Protein Expression and Purification - PROTEIN EXPRESS PURIF, 2004

Achieving high-level expression of the Bacillus thuringiensis Cry4Aa mosquito-larvicidal protein was demonstrated. The 130-kDa Cry4Aa protoxin was overexpressed as an inclusion body in Escherichia coli under the control of the tac promoter together with the cry4Ba promoter. The solubility of the toxin inclusions in carbonate buffer, pH 10.0, was markedly enhanced at a cultivation temperature of 30°C. Elimination of the tryptic cleavage site at Arg-235 in the loop between helices 5 and 6 still retained the high-level toxicity of E. coli cells expressing the Cry4Aa mutant against Aedes aegypti larvae. Trypsin digestion of the R235Q mutant protoxin produced a protease-resistant fragment of ca. 65kDa. A homogeneous product of the 65-kDa trypsin-treated R203Q protein was obtained after size-exclusion chromatography that would pave the way for the further crystallisation and X-ray crystallographic studies.

Cloning of cry2Aa and cry2Ab genes from new isolates of Bacillus thuringiensis and their expression in recombinant Bacillus thuringiensis and Escherichia coli strains

World Journal of Microbiology & Biotechnology, 2004

Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is the major source for transfer of genes to impart insect resistance in transgenic plants. Cry2A proteins of Bt are promising candidates for management of resistance development in insects due to their difference from the currently used Cry1A proteins, in structure and insecticidal mechanism. Two insecticidal crystal protein genes of Bt, viz. cry2Aa and cry2Ab were cloned from new isolates of Bt, 22-4 and 22-11, respectively. Expression of both the genes was studied in an acrystalliferous strain of Bt (4Q7) by fusing the cry2Aa and cry2Ab genes downstream of cry2Aa promoter and orf1 + orf2 sequences. Western blot analysis revealed a low level expression of the cloned cry2Aa and cry2Ab genes in the recombinant Bt strains. High-level expression of cry2Aa and cry2Ab genes was achieved in the recombinant E. coli by cloning the cry2A genes under the control of the T7 promoter.

A novel delta-endotoxin gene cryIM from Bacillus thuringiensis ssp. wuhanensis

FEBS Letters, 1997

A new cry/-related sequence designated crylM was cloned using an immunoscreening technique from ssp. wuhanensis of Bacillus thuringiensis (BT), previously reported to produce multiple Cry proteins |Chestukhina et al. (1994) Can. J. Microbiol. 240, 1026-1034]. Analysis of the crylM nucleotide sequence revealed an ORF, BTII-type promoter-like sequence, peculiar for such genes, a translation initiation element and a putative transcription terminator. Nevertheless, its product was not previously found in the crystals of the host strain [Chestukhina et al. (1994) Can. J. Microbiol. 240, 1026-1034] which shows its weak or absent natural expression. The amino acid sequence of 1151 residues encoded by the continuous reading frame of crylM is not identical but is essentially similar to the other 6-endotoxins of the Cryl class. An IS231-like sequence was found 400 bp downstream of the crylM stop codon and a fragment of the cry I Ah gene was located 3 kb upstream of its initiator codon in the same orientation. Artificial expression of the cloned gene in E. coli under the control of the lacZ promoter allowed us to obtain its hypothetical protein product.

Cloning and expression of the cry1Ea4 gene of Bacillus thuringiensis and the comparative toxicity of its gene product

World Journal of Microbiology & Biotechnology, 1998

A new cry gene (cry1Ea4) was cloned and sequenced from a Bacillus thuringiensis isolate native to Mexico (LBIT-147). The gene coded for a 133kDa protoxin which had greater than 99% homology with the holotype Cry1Ea1, as only four mismatches were found between the two amino acid sequences. When the Cry1Ea4 toxin was expressed in a crystal-negative strain of B. thuringiensis, bipyramidal crystals were produced. Purified crystals from this recombinant strain and from the holotype (Cry1Ea1) were bioassayed against first instar larvae of the tobacco hornworm. Statistically different mean LC50 values indicated that Cry1Ea4 was more toxic than its holotype. This increase in toxicity may be attributed to the three amino acids which differ from the holotype sequence in the toxic fragment.

Cloning of a cryV-type insecticidal protein gene from Bacillus thuringiensis: the cryV-encoded protein is expressed early in stationary phase

Journal of Bacteriology, 1996

A CryV-type protein (CGCryV) has been isolated from supernatant fluids of Bacillus thuringiensis AB88 cultures. Previous reports have suggested the cryptic nature of the cryV-type genes on the basis of the absence of CryV-type proteins in parasporal crystals. The CryV-type protein reported here is expressed early in stationary phase, and evidence indicates that it is an exported protein. Analysis of the deduced protein sequence from this gene reveals the presence of an N-terminal domain that likely acts as a signal peptide. The CGCryV protein is the first reported case of a delta-endotoxin being a secreted protein, which may influence the biological relevance of these proteins.

Cloning and sequencing of the gene for a putatively nematode-toxic crystal protein, Cry21Ba1, from Bacillus thuringiensis serovar roskildiensis

Nematological Research (Japanese Journal of Nematology), 2004

We have cloned and sequenced a gene encoding a novel crystal (Cry) protein, Cry2lBal, from Bacillus thuringiensis serovar roskildiensis. The gene, cry2lBa1, was amplified by polymerase chain reaction using template (alkaline-cell lysate or plasmid DNA fraction of the Bacillus) and primers (pairs of oligomeric DNAs designed from the conserved amino-acid sequence blocks of Cry5-Cryl2-Cryl3-Cryl4-Cry2l-type Cry proteins), and was cloned followed by sequencing. The gene, cry21Ba1, should be functional, because it has putative promoter sequences upstream of the initiation codon and an inverted repeat downstream of the stop codon. The open reading frame (ORF) of cry21Ba1 is a 3,858-bp DNA encoding Cry2lBal consisting of 1,286 amino acids. The nucleotide sequence of the cry21Ba1 ORF is 75% identical with that of the cry2lAa1 (the gene for a known nematode-toxic Cry protein, Cry2lAal) ORF. The amino acid sequence of Cry2lBal is 67% identical with that of Cry2lAal. High amino-acid-sequence similarity between these Cry proteins indicates that Cry2lBal is putatively nematode-toxic. Jpn.

Distribution of cryV-type insecticidal protein genes in Bacillus thuringiensis and cloning of cryV-type genes from Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki and Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. entomocidus

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 1995

DNA dot blot hybridizations with a cryV-specific probe and a cryI-specific probe were performed to screen 24 Bacillus thuringiensis strains for their cryV-type (lepidopteran- and coleopteran-specific) and cryI-type (lepidopteran-specific) insecticidal crystal protein gene contents, respectively. The cryV-specific probe hybridized to 12 of the B. thuringiensis strains examined. Most of the cryV-positive strains also hybridized to the cryI-specific probe, indicating that the cryV genes are closely related to cryI genes. Two cryV-type genes, cryV1 and cryV465, were cloned from B. thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki HD-1 and B. thuringiensis subsp. entomocidus BP465, respectively, and their nucleotide sequences were determined. The CryV1 protein was toxic to Plutella xylostella and Bombyx mori, whereas the CryV465 protein was toxic only to Plutella xylostella.

Full expression of the cryIIIA toxin gene of Bacillus thuringiensis requires a distant upstream DNA sequence affecting transcription

Journal of bacteriology, 1993

The cryIIIA gene encoding a coleopteran-specific toxin is poorly expressed in Bacillus thuringiensis when cloned in a low-copy-number plasmid. This weak expression is observed when the gene is cloned only with its promoter and its putative terminator. cryIIIA gene expression was analyzed by using deletion derivatives of a larger DNA fragment carrying the toxin gene and additional adjacent sequences. The results indicate that a 1-kb DNA fragment located 400 bp upstream of the promoter strongly enhances CryIIIA production in B. thuringiensis sporulating cells. Similar results were obtained when the low-copy-number plasmid pHT304 carrying transcriptional fusions between upstream regions of cryIIIA and the lacZ gene was used. Analysis of the start sites, the sizes, and the amounts of cryIIIA-specific mRNAs shows that the enhancement occurs at the transcriptional level by increasing the number of cryIIIA-specific transcripts from the onset of sporulation to about 6 h after the onset of s...