Adaptive Evolution of cry Genes in Bacillus thuringiensis： Implications for Their Specificity Determination

The cry gene family, produced during the late exponential phase of growth in Bacillus thuringiensis, is a large, still-growing family of homologous genes, in which each gene encodes a protein with strong specific activity against only one or a few insect species. Extensive studies are mostly focusing on the structural and functional relationships of Cry proteins, and have revealed several residues or domains that are important for the target recognition and receptor attachment. In this study, we have employed a maximum likelihood method to detect evidence of adaptive evolution in Cry proteins, and have identified 24 positively selected residues, which are all located in Domain Ⅱ or Ⅲ. Combined with known data from mutagenesis studies, the majority of these residues, at the molecular level, contribute much to the insect specificity determination. We postulate that the potential pressures driving the diversification of Cry proteins may be in an attempt to adapt for the ＂arm race＂ between δ-endotoxins and the targeted insects, or to enlarge their target spectra, hence result in the functional divergence. The sites identified to be under positive selection would provide targets for further structural and functional analyses on Cry proteins.     

两种雀形目鸟类孵化行为对子代质量的影响

对高寒草甸地面营巢的小云雀 (Alaudagulgula)和灌丛筑巢的黄嘴朱顶雀 (Acanthisflavirostris)繁殖方式的研究表明 :①小云雀孵化异步性较弱 (1d) ;平均卵重与产卵顺序不显著相关 ,但最后 1枚卵最重 ;出壳顺序与雏鸟生长率极显著正相关 (P <0 0 1) ;出壳顺序对幼鸟的雏期和离巢体重无显著影响 (P >0 0 5 )。②黄嘴朱顶雀孵化异步性较强 (2～ 3d) ;平均卵重与产卵顺序显著正相关 (P <0 0 5 ) ,最后 1枚卵最重 ,第 1枚次之 ;出壳顺序对雏鸟生长率、雏期和离巢体重均无显著影响 (P >0 0 5 )。结果分析表明 ,2种雀形目鸟类都选择了异步孵化和加强窝雏数对策的繁殖模式。