Molecular characterization of a gene encoding a 72-kilodalton mosquito-toxic crystal protein from Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis

• Published in: Journal of Bacteriology Vol. 170; no. 10; pp. 4732 - 4738
• Main Authors: Donovan, W.P, Dankocsik, C, Gilbert, M.P
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Society for Microbiology 01.10.1988
• Subjects: Amino Acid Sequence; Animal infectious diseases; Animals; Bacillus megaterium; BACILLUS THURINGIENSIS; Bacillus thuringiensis - genetics; Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis; Bacterial Proteins - genetics; Bacterial Toxins - genetics; Bacteriology; Base Sequence; Biological and medical sciences; cloning; CONTROL BIOLOGICO; CryD protein; crystals; Culicidae; DIPTERA; DNA, Bacterial - genetics; Endotoxins; Escherichia coli; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; GENE; gene expression; Gene Expression Regulation; General aspects; GENES; Genes, Bacterial; Genetics; Hemolysin Proteins; Infectious diseases; INSECTE NUISIBLE; insecticides; INSECTOS DANINOS; LUTTE BIOLOGIQUE; Medical sciences; Microbiology; Molecular Sequence Data; Molecular Weight; NUCLEOTIDE; nucleotide sequence; NUCLEOTIDOS; Plasmids; PROTEINAS; PROTEINE; Restriction Mapping; TOXINAS; TOXINE; Tropical medicine; Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis; Entomopathogen; Nucleotide sequence; Bacillaceae; Gene expression; Endotoxin; Spores; Genetic transfer; Proteins; Toxin; Bacillales; Gene; Bacteria; Bacillus megaterium
• ISSN: 0021-9193; 1098-5530; 1067-8832
• DOI: 10.1128/jb.170.10.4732-4738.1988

A gene encoding a 72,357-dalton (Da) crystal protein of Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis was isolated from a native 75-MDa plasmid by the use of a gene-specific oligonucleotide probe. Bacillus megaterium cells harboring the cloned gene (cryD) produced significant amounts of the 72-kDa protein (CryD), and the cells were highly toxic to mosquito larvae. In contrast, cryD-containing Escherichia coli cells did not produce detectable levels of the 72-kDa CryD protein. The sequence of the CryD protein, as deduced from the sequence of the cryD gene, was found to contain regions of homology with two previously described B. thuringiensis crystal proteins: a 73-kDa coleopteran-toxic protein and a 60-kDa lepidopteran- and dipteran-toxic protein of B. thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki. A second gene encoding the B. thuringiensis subsp. israelensis 28-kDa crystal protein was located approximately 1.5 kilobases upstream from and in the opposite orientation to the cryD gene