Biotinylation of Bacillus thuringiensis Insecticidal Crystal Proteins

[This corrects the article on p. 1821 in vol. 59.].     

Biotinylation of Bacillus thuringiensis Insecticidal Crystal Proteins

Biotinylation of Bacillus thuringiensis insecticidal crystal proteins (ICPs) was evaluated for its potential use in an alternative ICP screening method and in the characterization of ICP receptors. In vivo biological activity of CryIA(b), as inferred from bioassays with Manduca sexta and Ostrinia nubilalis and from histopathological effects on O. nubilalis midgut cells induced by force feeding, was not affected by biotinylation at moderate biotinylation ratios. A competitive radioreceptor assay showed that there was only a minor reduction in binding affinity of biotin-labeled CryIA(b) for M. sexta brush border membrane vesicles. On midgut tissue sections, the binding pattern along the midgut epithelium and the staining intensity of biotinylated ICPs detected with streptavidin-enzyme conjugate were virtually identical to the binding pattern and staining intensity of native CryIA(b) detected with antibodies. The specificity of biotinylated ICP binding to larval midgut tissue was demonstrated by performing homologous competition experiments. The relationship between different ICP receptor types in Plutella xylostella, as inferred from radioligand binding studies, was confirmed by the results of heterologous competition experiments performed with biotinylated and native ICPs.     

苏云金杆菌Cyt类杀虫晶体蛋白及其特征

本文综述了国内外有关苏云金杆菌Cyt类杀虫晶体蛋白的分类、杀虫特性、作用机理 ;具有分子伴侣功能的 2 0kDa蛋白对cyt基因在大肠杆菌和苏云金杆菌中的表达的影响 ;以及利用Cyt类蛋白控制害虫对苏云金杆菌抗性的意义。     

Effects of Mutations Within Surface-Exposed Loops in the Pore-Forming Domain of the Cry9Ca Insecticidal Toxin of Bacillus thuringiensis

The pore-forming domain of Bacillus thuringiensis insecticidal Cry toxins is formed of seven amphipathic α-helices. Because pore formation is thought to involve conformational changes within this domain, the possible role of its interhelical loops in this crucial step was investigated with Cry9Ca double mutants, which all share the previously characterized R164A mutation, using a combination of homology modeling, bioassays and electrophysiological measurements. The mutations either introduced, neutralized or reversed an electrical charge carried by a single residue of one of the domain I loops. The ability of the 28 Cry9Ca double mutants to depolarize the apical membrane of freshly isolated Manduca sexta larval midguts was tested in the presence of either midgut juice or a cocktail of protease inhibitors because these conditions had been shown earlier to greatly enhance pore formation by Cry9Ca and its R164A single-site mutant. Most mutants retained toxicity toward neonate larvae and a pore-forming ability in the electrophysiological assay, which were comparable to those of their parental toxin. In contrast, mutants F130D, L186D and V189D were very poorly toxic and practically inactive in vitro. On the other hand, mutant E129A depolarized the midgut membrane efficiently despite a considerably reduced toxicity, and mutant Q192E displayed a reduced depolarizing ability while conserving a near wild-type toxicity. These results suggest that the conditions found in the insect midgut, including high ionic strength, contribute to minimizing the influence of surface charges on the ability of Cry9Ca and probably other B. thuringiensis toxins to form pores within their target membrane.     

Interaction between Functional Domains of Bacillus thuringiensis Insecticidal Crystal Proteins

Interactions among the three structural domains of Bacillus thuringiensis Cry1 toxins were investigated by functional analysis of chimeric proteins. Hybrid genes were prepared by exchanging the regions coding for either domain I or domain III among Cry1Ab, Cry1Ac, Cry1C, and Cry1E. The activity of the purified trypsin-activated chimeric toxins was evaluated by testing their effects on the viability and plasma membrane permeability of Sf9 cells. Among the parental toxins, only Cry1C was active against these cells and only chimeras possessing domain II from Cry1C were functional. Combination of domain I from Cry1E with domains II and III from Cry1C, however, resulted in an inactive toxin, indicating that domain II from an active toxin is necessary, but not sufficient, for activity. Pores formed by chimeric toxins in which domain I was from Cry1Ab or Cry1Ac were slightly smaller than those formed by toxins in which domain I was from Cry1C. The properties of the pores formed by the chimeras are therefore likely to result from an interaction between domain I and domain II or III. Domain III appears to modulate the activity of the chimeric toxins: combination of domain III from Cry1Ab with domains I and II of Cry1C gave a protein which was more strongly active than Cry1C.     

苏云金芽孢杆菌4.0718菌株的杀虫晶体蛋白基因分析

根据苏云金杆菌(Bacillus thuringiensis)cry1、cry2和cry3型基因的保守区分别设计了3对通用引物Un1(d)/Un1?、Un2(d)/Un2?和Un3(d)/Un3?,以Bt4.0718菌株质粒DNA为模板进行PCR扩增,通过扩增产物片段的分子量大小来确定该菌株所含有的杀虫晶体蛋白基因类型。随后根据上述3类cry基因的高变区设计特异引物再次进行PCR鉴定。结果表明:Bt4.0718菌株含有cry1Aa、cry1Ab、cry1Ac、cry1Cb、cry2Ac和新基因cry4.5等6种基因类型。这一结果为利用该菌株构建高效广谱杀虫工程菌提供了客观依据。     

苏云金芽孢杆菌杀虫晶体蛋白与DNA分子的相互作用

苏云金芽孢杆菌 (Ｂａｃｉｌｌｕｓｔｈｕｒｉｎｇｉｅｎｓｉｓ,简称Ｂｔ)在形成芽孢的同时能够产生伴孢晶体 ,其中含有一种或几种杀虫晶体蛋白 (ＩＣＰｓ,ＩｎｓｅｃｔｉｃｉｄａｌＣｒｙｓｔａｌＰｒｏｔｅｉｎｓ) ,即δ 内毒素[1] 。伴孢晶体进入敏感昆虫的消化道后发生溶解并释放出 2 7～ 1 40ｋＤ的原毒素。在中肠蛋白酶的作用下 ,原毒素被激活为 2 3～ 70ｋＤ的毒性多肽[2～ 4 ] 。随后毒素与中肠刷状缘膜泡 (ＢＢＭＶ ,ＢｒｕｓｈＢｏｒｄｅｒＭｅｍｂｒａｎｅＶｅｓｉｃｌｅ)上的特异受体发生结合并且在细胞膜上形成孔道 ,破坏细胞…     

苏云金杆菌4.071 8菌株杀虫晶体性质的研究

研究了苏云金杆菌4．071 8菌株晶体的分离及其在电镜下的形态结构,并通过SDS－PAGE对其杀虫晶体蛋白进行了分析,证明了4．071 8菌株晶体有立方体型和双金字塔型两种,分别由原毒素CryⅠ及CryⅡ组成,该菌对鳞翅目和双翅目昆虫均有毒杀作用。     

苏云金芽胞杆菌杀虫晶体蛋白作用的分子机制研究进展

本文主要综述了苏云金芽胞杆菌(Bacillusthuringiensis,Bt)杀虫晶体蛋白在分子水平上作用机制的研究进展。杀虫晶体蛋白经蛋白酶活化后形成的毒性肽一般由三个结构域组成。在杀虫过程中,毒性肽首先通过结构域Ⅱ或结构域Ⅲ的特殊部位与昆虫中肠上皮细胞膜上的受体蛋白发生专一性结合。这一结合开始是可逆的,随后发生紧密的不可逆结合。继而诱发毒性肽分子发生空间构象变化,使得结构域Ⅰ中的某些α螺旋从α螺旋束中弹出并插入细胞膜,并通过寡聚合作用造成膜穿孔,导致细胞渗透平衡破坏、中肠破裂、昆虫死亡 。     

Dot Blot Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay for Monitoring the Fate of Insecticidal Toxins from Bacillus thuringiensis in Soil

The release of transgenic plants and microorganisms expressing truncated genes from Bacillus thuringiensis that code for active insecticidal toxins rather than for the inactive protoxins could result in the accumulation of these active proteins in soil, especially when bound on clay minerals and other soil particles. To monitor the fate of these toxins in soil, a dot blot enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) that detects free and particle-bound toxins from B. thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki and subsp. tenebrionis was developed. The lower limit of detection of the toxins, either free or adsorbed or bound on the clay minerals montmorillonite (M) or kaolinite (K) or on the clay-particle-size fraction separated from soil (by sedimentation according to Stokes' Law), was approximately 3 ng. Antibodies (Ab) to the toxins from B. thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki and from B. thuringiensis subsp. thuringiensis were raised in goats and rabbits, respectively, and each Ab was rendered specific by adsorption onto CNBr-activated Sepharose coupled with the other toxin. The preadsorbed Ab were specific for the toxins from both subspecies, both free and bound on M, K, or the clay-particle-size fraction of soil. The toxins that were added to sterile and nonsterile soil amended with M or K or not amended were detected on the clay-particle-size fraction of the soil after various periods of incubation by the dot blot ELISA. No toxins were detected on the silt- and sand-particle-size fractions. Each dot blot, containing various amounts of toxins and/or clays, was applied to a polyvinylidene difluoride membrane in a dot blot vacuum system. The toxins were still detectable on the clay-particle-size fraction of nonsterile soil after 40 days. This agreed with preliminary results of other studies in this laboratory that when these toxins bind on clay minerals, they become resistant to utilization by microorganisms.     

苏云金杆菌营养期杀虫蛋白的研究

营养期杀虫蛋白 (vegetativeinsecticidalproteins ,VIPs)是苏云金杆菌 (Bacillusthuringiensis,Bt)在对数生长中期分泌的一类新型杀虫毒蛋白。VIPs主要分为VIP1、VIP2和VIP3三种。VIP1和VIP2构成二元毒素 ,对鞘翅目叶甲科的昆虫具有杀虫特异性 ;而VIP3对鳞翅目昆虫具有较广谱的杀虫活性。VIP1和VIP2的杀虫作用机理还不清楚 ;VIP3通过诱发细胞凋亡 ,最终导致昆虫死亡 ,这种作用机理与Bt杀虫晶体蛋白的作用机理完全不同 ,这为筛选新的杀虫活性物质提供了新的思路。vip基因现已被应用于转基因杀虫植物的构建 ,得到高效抗虫的多价转基因玉米。此外 ,VIPs嵌合蛋白的构建、vip及其融合基因导入其它许多宿主微生物等方面的研究也具有诱人的潜在应用前景。     

Monoclonal Antibody Analysis and Insecticidal Spectrum of Three Types of Lepidopteran-Specific Insecticidal Crystal Proteins of Bacillus thuringiensis

We have investigated the protein composition and the insecticidal spectrum of crystals of 29 Bacillus thuringiensis strains active against lepidopteran larvae. All crystals contained proteins of 130 to 140 kilodaltons (kDa) which could be grouped into three types by the molecular weight of the protoxin and the trypsin-activated core fragment. Proteins of the three types showed a characteristic insecticidal spectrum when tested against five lepidopteran species. Type A crystal proteins were protoxins of 130 or 133 kDa, which were processed into 60-kDa toxins by trypsin. Several genes encoding crystal proteins of this type have been cloned and sequenced earlier. They are highly conserved in the N-terminal half of the toxic fragment and were previously classified in three subtypes (the 4.5-, 5.3-, and 6.6-kilobase subtypes) based on the restriction map of their genes. The present study shows that different proteins of these three subtypes were equally toxic against Manduca sexta and Pieris brassicae and had no detectable activity against Spodoptera littoralis. However, the 4.5-, 5.3-, and 6.6-kilobase subtypes differed in their toxicity against Heliothis virescens and Mamestra brassicae. Type B crystal proteins consisted of 140-kDa protoxins with a 55-kDa tryptic core fragment. These were only active against one of the five insect species tested (P. brassicae). The protoxin and the trypsin-activated toxin of type C were 135- and 63-kDa proteins, respectively. Proteins of this type were associated with high toxicity against S. littoralis and M. brassicae. A panel of 35 monoclonal antibodies was used to compare the structural characteristics of crystal proteins of the three different types and subtypes. Each type of protein could be associated with a typical epitope structure, indicating an unambiguous correlation between antigenic structure and insect specificity.     

Microbial Utilization of Free and Clay-Bound Insecticidal Toxins from Bacillus thuringiensis and Their Retention of Insecticidal Activity after Incubation with Microbes

The insecticidal toxins produced by Bacillus thuringiensis subspp. kurstaki and tenebrionis were resistant when bound on clays, but not when free, to utilization by pure and mixed cultures of microbes as sources of carbon and carbon plus nitrogen, and their availability as a nitrogen source was reduced. The bound toxins retained insecticidal activity both before and after exposure to microbes or pronase. The insecticidal activity of the toxins persisted for 40 days (the longest time evaluated) in nonsterile soil continuously maintained at the -33-kPa water tension and room temperature, alternately air dried and rewetted to the -33-kPa water tension, or alternately frozen and thawed, although alternate drying and wetting reduced the activity.     

苏云金芽胞杆菌的遗传多样性II. 杀虫晶体蛋白及其基因型

苏云金芽胞杆菌因为产生伴胞晶体而在表型上区别于其他近缘种,而伴胞晶体具有杀虫活性而受到人们的普遍关注和重视。本文通过杀虫晶体蛋白及其基因型,以及携带杀虫晶体蛋白基因的质粒类型在苏云金芽胞杆菌中的不同分布阐述了杀虫晶体蛋白及其基因的多态性。 Abstract: Bacillus thuringiensis is phenotypically different from other Bacillus species,which are very closely related to B. thuringiensis.only by the presence of crystal protein,and is studied systematically because of insecticidal activity of crystal protein.In the aper,we reviewed genetic diversity of insecticidal crystal protein and its genotype by analysing the type of crystal protein,cry gene and plasmid bome cry gene and their distribution inB. thuringiensis.     

Analysis of Mutations in the Pore-Forming Region Essential for Insecticidal Activity of a Bacillus thuringiensis δ-Endotoxin

The Bacillus thuringiensis insecticidal delta-endotoxins have a three-domain structure, with the seven amphipathic helices which comprise domain I being essential for toxicity. To better define the function of these helices in membrane insertion and toxicity, either site-directed or random mutagenesis of two regions was performed. Thirty-nucleotide segments in the B. thuringiensis cry1Ac1 gene, encoding parts of helix alpha4 and the loop connecting helices alpha4 and alpha5, were randomly mutagenized. This hydrophobic region of the toxin probably inserts into the membrane as a hairpin. Site-directed mutations were also created in specific surface residues of helix alpha3 in order to increase its hydrophobicity. Among 12 random mutations in helix alpha4, 5 resulted in the total loss of toxicity for Manduca sexta and Heliothis virescens, another caused a significant increase in toxicity, and one resulted in decreased toxicity. None of the nontoxic mutants was altered in toxin stability, binding of toxin to a membrane protein, or the ability of the toxin to aggregate in the membrane. Mutations in the loop connecting helices alpha4 and alpha5 did not affect toxicity, nor did mutations in alpha3, which should have enhanced the hydrophobic properties of this helix. In contrast to mutations in helix alpha5, those in helix alpha4 which inactivated the toxin did not affect its capacity to oligomerize in the membrane. Despite the formation of oligomers, there was no ion flow as measured by light scattering. Helix alpha5 is important for oligomerization and perhaps has other functions, whereas helix alpha4 must have a more direct role in establishing the properties of the channel.     

Insecticidal activity of Bacillus thuringiensis cells]

The influence of sixteen different nutrient media on the entomopathogenic activity of three Bacillus thuringiensis strains was studied. The medium composition based on potato, yeast extract, and molasses was optimized. B. thuringiensis No 1 grown on the media No 7 and 9 displayed the highest entomopathogenic activity (94.3 and 90.6%, respectively).