苏云金芽胞杆菌幕虫亚种晶胞粘连现象与晶体蛋白基因cry26Aa所在质粒有关

苏云金芽胞杆菌幕虫亚种T02菌株的伴胞晶体在芽胞外壁内侧形成,呈现晶胞粘连的现象。在此菌株中克隆了cry26Aa和cry28Aa两个基因,并对晶胞粘连现象与质粒的相关性做了系统研究。通过消除幕虫亚种T02菌株的质粒,得到了仅消除cry26Aa所在质粒的菌株BMB1151和无质粒的菌株BMB1152。通过穿梭载体将cry26Aa和cry28Aa两个基因分别和同时转化无质粒突变株BMB1152并表达,形成的晶体与芽胞独立存在不能粘连,表明在幕虫亚种染色体背景下仅仅cry的表达不能形成晶胞粘连现象,从而推断晶胞粘连现象可能与幕虫亚种两个基因所在的质粒有关;进一步的研究发现将cry26Aa在仅消除cry26Aa所在质粒的突变株BMB1151中表达,形成的晶体与芽胞也分别独立存在不能粘连,从而进一步推断幕虫亚种晶胞粘连现象与cry26Aa所在质粒有关。     

苏云金芽胞杆菌cry26Aa和cry28Aa基因共表达可在芽胞外壁内侧形成伴胞晶体

苏云金芽胞杆菌幕虫亚种的伴胞晶体在预芽胞外壁内侧形成,呈现晶体芽胞粘连的现象。根据已发表的cry26Aa1和cry28Aa1基因序列设计引物,从苏云金芽胞杆菌幕虫亚种T02中扩增得到cry26Aa和cry28Aa基因,通过穿梭载体将这两个基因分别和同时转化到苏云金芽胞杆菌无晶体突变株BMB171后,透射电镜下可在芽胞外壁内侧和外侧同时观察到伴胞晶体,而单独表达时可在芽胞外壁外侧观察到伴胞晶体。结果表明,伴胞晶体在芽胞外壁内侧表达不单独依赖于启动子的时空调控,可能还受到晶体蛋白相互作用的影响。     

苏云金芽胞杆菌cry26Aa和cry28Aa基因共表达可在芽胞外壁内侧形成伴胞晶体

苏云金芽胞杆菌幕虫亚种的伴胞晶体在预芽胞外壁内侧形成,呈现晶体芽胞粘连的现象。根据已发表的cry26Aa1和cry28Aa1基因序列设计引物,从苏云金芽胞杆菌幕虫亚种T02中扩增得到cry26Aa和cry28Aa基因,通过穿梭载体将这两个基因分别和同时转化到苏云金芽胞杆菌无晶体突变株BMB171后,透射电镜下可在芽胞外壁内侧和外侧同时观察到伴胞晶体,而单独表达时可在芽胞外壁外侧观察到伴胞晶体。结果表明,伴胞晶体在芽胞外壁内侧表达不单独依赖于启动子的时空调控,可能还受到晶体蛋白相互作用的影响。     

苏云金芽胞杆菌大质粒pBMB28的克隆

苏云金芽胞杆菌幕虫亚种YBT-020具有典型的晶胞粘连表型。在前期的研究中,通过质粒消除实验,推测晶胞粘连现象与YBT-020内生质粒pBMB28有关。为了定位质粒pBMB28上控制晶胞粘连表型的基因,首先对质粒pBMB28进行克隆。利用穿梭载体pEMB0557,成功构建了苏云金芽胞杆菌YBT-020的基因组人工染色体(BAC)文库。前期的研究表明晶体蛋白基因cry28Aa定位在质粒pBMB28上,根据cry28Aa基因序列设计引物,从文库中筛选到含有cry28Aa的重组质粒pBMB231。镜检和SDS-PAGE证明质粒pBMB231转化无晶体突变株BMB171形成的重组子BMB231可以产生Cry28Aa晶体蛋白,但不能恢复晶胞粘连表型。对重组质粒pBMB231的插入片段末端序列测定并设计引物筛选文库,通过染色体步移方式得到4个可以重叠覆盖质粒pBMB28不同区域的克隆子,从而克隆了该质粒。对这4个克隆子末端测序和酶切分析,测算出该质粒的大小约为140 kb。进一步确定应用基因组BAC文库以及重叠片段筛选的方法,可以快速有效的克隆苏云金芽胞杆菌大质粒。     

带cry3Aa启动子的aiiA基因在苏云金芽胞杆菌中的表达

N 乙酰高丝氨酸内酯 (N acyl homoserinelactones,AHLs) ,是一类数量感知 (Quorum sensing)系统中的信号分子 ,它参与诱导调控许多植物病原菌致病基因的表达。苏云金芽胞杆菌的AiiA蛋白能降解这类AHLs分子 ,进而可减弱病原菌致病基因表达产生的病害。苏云金芽胞杆菌杀虫晶体蛋白基因cry3Aa的启动子是一种不依赖芽胞形成的启动子 ,它相对于其它cry类基因的启动子有启动基因转录时间早 ,转录时间长的优点。通过重叠延伸PCR ,用杀虫晶体蛋白基因cry3Aa启动子替换编码AiiA蛋白的基因aiiA自身的启动子 ,构建了融合基因pro3A aiiA。将融合基因装入穿梭载体pHT3 0 4的BamHI SphI位点 ,得到重组质粒pBMB686并转化苏云金芽胞杆菌无晶体突变株BMB171,重组菌株BMB686的AiiA蛋白表达量在各个生长时期均高于对照菌株 ,对AHLs分子的降解活性和对胡萝卜软腐欧文氏菌感染马铃薯产生病害的抑制能力也明显优于对照菌株     

晶胞粘连苏云金芽胞杆菌C15杀线虫毒力因子发掘与功能鉴定

苏云金芽胞杆菌（Bacillus thuringiensis,Bt）制剂作为一种高效的微生物杀虫剂,在植物病虫害防控领域有着广泛的应用。Bt制剂的主效成分为杀虫晶体和芽胞,其中,杀虫晶体的环境低持久性是Bt农药应用的重要限制因素之一。自然界中存在着一些Bt菌株,其产生的杀虫晶体位于芽胞外壁和芽胞衣之间,这种特殊的表型被称为晶胞粘连（spore-crystal association, SCA）表型。由于芽胞外壁对晶体的保护作用,SCA表型可以提升晶体抵抗不良环境因素的能力,是开发新型Bt生物囊杀虫剂的有效育种策略。本文选取对线虫具有强毒杀能力的 SCA菌株C15作为研究对象。获得了C15菌株的完整基因组序列,包括一个5 637 049 bp的环状染色体和8个不同大小的环形质粒（240 314 bp到3 188 bp）。C15基因编码了5个杀虫蛋白（Cry蛋白）基因：cry21-99、cry21-67、cry21-66、cry21-46和cry-N。在Bt无晶体突变株BMB171中异源表达cry21-99基因,发现其表达产物形成菱形晶体,且对秀丽隐杆线虫（Caenorhabditis elegans）和南方根结线虫（Meloidogyne incognita）均有毒杀活性。同时,还在全基因组范围内预测了Cry毒素以外的杀线虫毒力因子和次生代谢产物。此外,在C15基因组中预测了本团队已报道的苏云金芽胞杆菌幕虫亚种（B. thuringiensis serovar finitimus）菌株YBT-020 SCA表型决定因子的同源基因,缺失后突变体仍然保留稳定的SCA表型,说明C15菌株的SCA表型形成机制与YBT-020不同,该菌株代表了一种新的SCA表型形成机制。本研究为转基因作物防控线虫提供了新的遗传资源,也为研究SCA表型形成机制,开发新型高效Bt制剂提供了新线索。     

苏云金芽胞杆菌杀线虫伴胞晶体蛋白基因cry6Aa的克隆与表达

通过对晶体蛋白N-末端氨基酸测序,设计简并探针,从对根结线虫高毒力苏云金芽胞杆菌YBT-1518菌株中克隆到1个含有杀线虫晶体蛋白基因的片段。序列测定表明该序列含有两个ORF(orf1和orf2),其中orf1与基因cry6Aa1同源性为98%,已在GenBank上登录(Acc.NO.AF499736),并被命名为cry6Aa2。将克隆的该片段克隆到穿梭载体pHT304上,并转化苏云金芽胞杆菌无晶体突变株BMB171,重组菌株可形成米粒状伴胞晶体。生物测定表明,表达的毒素蛋白对北方根结线虫的LC50为9.47μg/mL,毒力与出发菌株(10.74μg/mL)相当。     

苏云金芽胞杆菌G03 spoIVF操纵子敲除对芽胞和晶体形成的影响

spoIVF是一个普遍存在于芽胞杆菌中的操纵子。在枯草芽胞杆菌中,它编码的两个蛋白是芽胞形成所必需的。采用基因重组技术敲除了苏云金芽胞杆菌G03菌株中的spoIVF操纵子,构建了spoIVF缺失株G03(spoIVF-)。研究表明:该突变株丧失了形成芽胞和晶体的能力。lacZ基因与cry1Aa基因的启动子融合表达分析发现:突变株中的cry1Aa基因的活性严重降低。利用载体pSTK携带spoIVF操纵子在突变株中的表达,使突变株部分恢复了产胞和形成杀虫晶体蛋白的能力。这说明spoIVF操纵子是所必需的,同时该操纵子还影响σE因子控制的cry1Aa基因表达。     

苏云金杆菌辅助蛋白P19对杀虫晶体蛋白Cry11Aa表达的影响

苏云金杆菌以色列亚种的p19基因、cry11Aa基因和p20基因位于同一操纵子上,据推测辅助蛋白P19可能与Cry11Aa蛋白的晶体化相关。本研究利用穿梭载体pHT3101构建了两个重组质粒pHcy1和pHcy3,两质粒均携带cry11Aa基因,但后者完全缺失了cry11Aa基因上游的p19基因。将重组质粒电激转化至苏云金杆菌无晶体突变株4Q7中进行蛋白表达,SDS-PAGE结果表明在4Q7(pHcy1)和4Q7(pHcy3)中均能检测到正常表达的Cry11Aa蛋白,但单位体积培养液的Cry11Aa蛋白在辅助蛋白P19存在时的表达量明显高于其单独表达的表达量;透射电镜观察显示两菌株中的Cry11Aa蛋白形成了大小相近、形状相似的双梯形晶体;另外,生物测定结果表明重组菌株4Q7(pHcy1)和4Q7(pHcy3)对三龄致倦库蚊的杀虫活性没有显著性差异。该现象说明辅助蛋白P19的缺失对Cry11Aa蛋白的晶体形成和杀蚊活性没有影响,但P19作为分子伴侣在一定程度上帮助提高了Cry11Aa蛋白的表达水平。     

苏云金芽胞杆菌Rpp39杀虫晶体蛋白基因的鉴定及cry2Aa12基因的克隆表达

[目的]本研究的目的是分析从四川生态条件下分离的苏云金芽胞杆菌Rpp39菌株的特性,从分子水平上揭示该菌株对鳞翅目高毒力的原因;进一步从中分离克隆cry2Aa基因,并对其进行初步的表达研究.[方法]本研究主要采用扫描电镜观察、PCR-RFLP鉴定法和SDS-PAGE分析法研究菌株的特性;采用PCR直接克隆法克隆cry2Aa全长基因,并亚克隆到原核表达载体pET-30a中,构建重组表达质粒pET-2Aa,再转入受体菌E.coli.BL21(DE3)中进行诱导表达;采用室内生物测定法测定表达产物对小菜蛾和水稻二化螟的毒力.[结果]经扫描电镜观察菌株Rpp39主要产生菱形、方形和圆形3种伴胞晶体;SDS-PAGE分析表明主要产生130 kDa和60 kDa左右2种蛋白;经PCR-RFLP鉴定,该菌株含有cry1Aa、cry1Ab、cry1Ac、cry1Ia和cry2Aa五类杀虫晶体蛋白基因;1种cry2Aa类杀虫晶体蛋白全长基因被克隆,序列分析显示该基因的开放阅读框(ORF)为1902 bps,编码由634个氨基酸组成的蛋白质,氨基酸序列与Cry2Aa1蛋白同源性为99.7%,被国际Bt杀虫晶体蛋白基因命名委员会命名为cry2Aa12.重组表达质粒pET-2Aa在E.coli BL21(DE3)中,经IPTG诱导能正常表达,SDS-PAGE电泳验证含有65 kDa表达蛋白.生物活性测定表明表达的包涵体蛋白对小菜蛾和二化螟具有杀虫活性,LC50分别为5.4 μg/mL和22.3μg/mL.[结论]菌株Rpp39及从中分离克隆的cry2Aa12基因来自四川生态条件,丰富了菌株及基因的资源,在资源积累方面具有重要意义.     

Gene clusters located on two large plasmids determine spore crystal association (SCA) in Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. finitimus strain YBT-020

Crystals in Bacillus thuringiensis are usually formed in the mother cell compartment during sporulation and are separated from the spores after mother cell lysis. In a few strains, crystals are produced inside the exosporium and are associated with the spores after sporulation. This special phenotype, named 'spore crystal association' (SCA), typically occurs in B. thuringiensis subsp. finitimus. Our aim was to identify genes determining the SCA phenotype in B. thuringiensis subsp. finitimus strain YBT-020. Plasmid conjugation experiments indicated that the SCA phenotype in this strain was tightly linked with two large plasmids (pBMB26 and pBMB28). A shuttle bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) library of strain YBT-020 was constructed. Six fragments from BAC clones were screened from this library and discovered to cover the full length of pBMB26; four others were found to cover pBMB28. Using fragment complementation testing, two fragments, each of approximately 35 kb and located on pBMB26 and pBMB28, were observed to recover the SCA phenotype in an acrystalliferous mutant, B. thuringiensis strain BMB171. Furthermore, deletion analysis indicated that the crystal protein gene cry26Aa from pBMB26, along with five genes from pBMB28, were indispensable to the SCA phenotype. Gene disruption and frame-shift mutation analyses revealed that two of the five genes from pBMB28, which showed low similarity to crystal proteins, determined the location of crystals inside the exosporium. Gene disruption revealed that the three remaining genes, similar to spore germination genes, contributed to the stability of the SCA phenotype in strain YBT-020. Our results thus identified the genes determining the SCA phenotype in B. thuringiensis subsp. finitimus.     

Vegetative insecticidal protein enhancing the toxicity of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp kurstaki against Spodoptera exigua

AIMS: The objective of this work was to enhance the insecticidal activity or widen the pesticidal spectrum of a commercial Bacillus thuringiensis strain YBT1520. METHODS AND RESULTS: A vegetative insecticidal protein gene vip3Aa7, under the control of its native promoter and cry3A promoter, was subcloned into B. thuringiensis acrystalliferous BMB171 to generate BMB8901 and BMBvip respectively. It was found that the amount of Vip3Aa7 protein produced by BMBvip was 3.2-fold more than that produced by BMB8901. Therefore, the vip3Aa7 gene under the control of cry3A promoter was transformed into strain YBT1520. The toxicity of the resulting strain BMB218V against Spodoptera exigua was 10-fold more than that of YBT1520, and that the toxicity of BMB218V against Helicoverpa armigera retained the same level as that of strain YBT1520. CONCLUSIONS: Strain YBT1520 obtained high toxicity against S. exigua after it was transformed and expressed the foreign vip3Aa7 gene. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Commercial B. thuringiensis strain YBT1520 has high toxicity against H. armigera and Plutella xylostella, but almost no activity against S. exigua, which is a major crop pest in China. This work provides a new strategy for widening the activity spectrum of B. thuringiensis against agriculture pests.     

苏云金杆菌以色列亚种杀蚊蛋白Cyt1Aa在离中不粘柄菌中的表达

在蚊幼虫生活水域里的离中不粘柄菌(Asticcacaulis excentricus,Ae)中已成功表达苏云金芽孢杆菌以色列亚种(Bacillus thuringiensis subsp.israelensis,Bti)杀蚊蛋白基因cry11Aa的基础上,将另一Bti杀蚊蛋白基因cyt1Aa转化入Ae中表达。构建并转化了分别单独含有cyt1Aa基因、及同时含有cry11Aa基因的表达质粒pSODCyt20和pSODCryCyt20,蛋白免疫杂交检测相应的Ae重组子分别表达产生了Cyt1Aa和Cry11Aa蛋白。为了探究Ae(pSODCryCyt20)重组子不能表达cyt1Aa的原因,提取了重组子总RNA、并与同是革兰氏染色阴性的大肠杆菌的总RNA比较,结果显示两者RNA系统显著不同,推测Ae中多个外源基因的表达,可能要求每个基因必需一个启动子。     

Comparative study on effect of different promoters on expression of cry1Ac in Bacillus thuringiensis chromosome

AIMS: The aim of this work was to investigate the effect of cry3A promoter on the expression of cry1Ac in Bacillus thuringiensis chromosome and stably enhance the production of different cry genes under the control of cry3A promoter. METHODS AND RESULTS: The cry1Ac gene, which is specific to Lepidopteran larvae, was integrated into the chromosome of a B. thuringiensis plasmid-free and acrystalliferous strain BMB171, under the control of cry3A promoter and cry1Ac promoter, respectively. The expression of cry1Ac genes in the chromosome of host strain was investigated. The results from sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrymide gel electrophoresis, crystal observation and bioassay showed that either integrated with cry3A promoter (cry3Apro-cry1Ac) or with its native promoter (cry1Acpro-cry1Ac), cry1Ac gene could efficiently and stably express in the chromosome. The production of cry3Apro-cry1Ac gene was higher than that of cry1Acpro-cry1Ac gene. CONCLUSIONS: The cry3A promoter enhanced the expression of cry1Ac gene efficiently either on the chromosome or on the plasmid in B. thuringiensis strain. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: So far, the comparative studies on cry3A promoter and other cry promoters were carried on B. thuringiensis plasmids. This system offers an additional method for potentially improving the efficacy of B. thuringiensis insecticidal proteins efficiently, stably and safely.     

Broadening the insecticidal spectrum of Lepidoptera-specific Bacillus thuringiensis strains by chromosomal integration of cry3A

A TnpI-TnpIA-mediated and thermosensitive recombination system was developed to construct genetically modified Bacillus thuringiensis strains encoding a crystal protein particularly active against Coleopteran species. Based on B. thuringiensis transposon Tn4430, an integrative vector, pBMB-R14E, was constructed, by which the cry3A delta-endotoxin gene highly toxic to Lepidoptera was delivered into a wildtype B. thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki strain YBT1520. The cry3A gene was integrated into the chromosome of the host strain. Then the integrative vector was eliminated by moving recombinant cultures to 46 degrees C. Two recombinant B. thuringiensis strains, BMB1520-S and BMB1520-T, were obtained. In recombinant strains, the cry3A gene was stably expressed in measurable amounts and did not reduce the expression of endogenous crystal protein genes. Bioassay results showed that BMB1520-S and BMB1520-T, in addition to the activity against lepidopteran Plutella xylostella third-instar larvae present in the parental strains, exhibited a high level of activity against coleopteran Rhyllodecta vulgatissima third-instar larvae, absent from the parental strains.