• 한국미생물·생명공학회지
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• 제35권3호
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• pp.250-254
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• 2007

식물 뿌리혹 선충인 Meloidogyne incognita에 살충성이 있는 Bacillus thuringiensis 108 균주를 분리 선별하였다. 이 균주는 Gram양성이며, 포자를 형성하고, 운동성이 활발하며, lecithinase 및 catalase활성을 나타내었다. 이 균주가 생산하는 결정형 내독소(d-endotoxin)는 bipyramid형이었고, 편모항원성에 따른 균주의 동정 결과 serotype 3으로 표준 균주인 B. thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki의 편모항원성과 일치하였다. B. thuringiensis 108균주의 항선충성 물질은 Sephadex G-25 gel filtration, 활성탄 흡착 chromatography, Silica gel 흡착 chromatography 및 Sephadex G-10 gel filtration을 이용하여 정제를 하였다. 최종 정제단계인 Sephadex G-10 gel filtration 후에 항선충 물질의 $LC_{90}$는 $1.2\;{\mu}g/ml$이었다. B. thuringiensis 108 균주가 생산하는 항선충성 물질은 $100^{\circ}C$ 열처리에서 안정하였으나 autoclave($110^{\circ}C$ 30 min)를 했을 때는 그 독성이 완전히 소실되었다.

• 농약과학회지
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• 제14권4호
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• pp.446-455
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• 2010

주요 농업해충인 담배거세미나방에 대하여 높은 생물활성을 보이는 Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki KB099 균주의 내독소단백질의 특성이 검토되었다. 이 균주의 내독소단백질은 효소 처리 없는 SDS-PAGE 결과 HD-l 균주에서는 일부 용해되어 130 kDa과 60 kDa의 두 개의 단백질밴드가 나타났으나 KB099균주에서는 용해되지 않고 130kDa의 밴드만이 관찰되었다. KB099균주의 내독소단백질에 감수성 해충인 담배거세미나방의 중장액으로 소화하였을 때에는 약 60 kDa 단백질밴드가 형성됨을 확인하였다. 또한 두 균주의 각각의 내독소단백질에 감수성해충의 소화액으로 반응시켰을 때 생물활성이 약했던 HD-l균주는 약6시간 만에 주요 밴드가 사라지는데 비해 활성이 강한 KB099균주는 12시간이상 까지도 활성밴드가 유지되다가 24시간 정도에서 밴드가 사라졌다. KB099균주가 생산하는 내독소단백질 유전자의 탐색을 위한 PCR실험에서 Cry1Aa, Cry1Ab, Cry1Ac, Cry1C, Cry1D 그리고 Cry1I 등 6개의 유전자가 존재함을 확인하였다.

• 한국미생물·생명공학회지
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• 제17권2호
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• pp.142-147
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• 1989

나비목 유충에 독성이 강한 균으로 알려진 Bacillus thuringiensis serovar. kurstaki HD73 을 ethidium bromide(0.02$\mu\textrm{g}$/$m\ell$)처리와 자연적 curing에 의한 내독소 유전자의 위치를 확인하여 변이주간 내독소 생성능을 간이 선별할 수 있는 배지를 선발한 다음 국내 토양에서 분리한 KBS722 균주에 적응하여 그 내독소 단백질 유전자의 위치를 확인한 결과를 요약하면 다음과 같다. HD73-NRRL과 Dul-mage박사로 분양 받은 균주는 약 7.4, 7.1, 8.1, 11. 3, 75kb 및 크기가 75kb와 비슷하고 copy수가 적은 또 하나의 plasmid로 전부 6개의 plasmid를 보유하고 있었으며 IPL 균주는 약 4.0과 70kb plasmid를 더 보유하는 것으로 나타났다. 상기 HD 73 균주들의 내독소 단백질 크기는 모두 133KD 정도였고 HD73의 내독소 유전자는 변이주간 내독소의 현미경 검경과, immunoblotting plasmid DNA 의 전기영동결과 75kb상에 있는 것으로 나타났다. 이들 변이주들을 potato dextrose agar, starch agar, spizizen casamino acid glucose 와 nutrient agar 평판배지에 접종하여 균형태를 관찰하였을 때 내독소 비형성균(Cry-)은 starch agar 배지에서만 반투명하고 균 군락의 색깔이 엷은 회색을 띄었다. 한편 국내 분리균 KBS722를 novobiocin(3$\mu\textrm{g}$/$m\ell$)으로 plasmid를 curing시켜 상기 4가지 배지에 도달했을때 nutrient agar배지에서만 Cry 변이주가 반투명하고 엷은 회색을 나타내었다. KBS722의 내독소유전자는 약 225kb의 plasmid상에 있는 것으로 나타났으며 in vitro에서 쉽게 Cry$^+$주와 Cry$^-$주의 판별이 가능하였다.

• BMB Reports
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• 제40권5호
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• pp.783-790
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• 2007

Receptor binding plays an important role in determining host specificity of the Bacillus thuringiensis Cry $\delta$-endotoxins. Mutations in domains II and III have suggested the participation of certain residues in receptor recognition and insect specificity. In the present study, we expressed the cloned domain II-III fragment of Cry4Ba and examined its binding characteristics to mosquito-larval midgut proteins. The 43-kDa Cry4Ba-domain II-III protein over-expressed in Escherichia coli as inclusion bodies was only soluble when carbonate buffer, pH 10.0 was supplemented with 4M urea. After renaturation via stepwise dialysis and subsequent purification, the refolded domain II-III protein, which specifically reacts with anti Cry4Ba-domain III monoclonal antibody, predominantly exists as a $\beta$-sheet structure determined by circular dichroism spectroscopy. In vitro binding analysis to both histological midgut tissue sections and brush border membrane proteins prepared from susceptible Aedes aegypti mosquito-larvae revealed that the isolated Cry4Ba-domain II-III protein showed binding functionality comparable to the 65-kDa full-length active toxin. Altogether, the data present the 43-kDa Cry4Ba fragment comprising domains II and III that was produced in isolation was able to retain its receptor-binding characteristics to the target larval midgut proteins.

• BMB Reports
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• 제40권2호
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• pp.163-171
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• 2007

Functional elements of the conserved helix 7 in the poreforming domain of the Bacillus thuringiensis Cry $\delta$- endotoxins have not yet been clearly identified. Here, we initially performed alanine substitutions of four highly conserved aromatic residues, $Trp^{243}$, $Phe^{246}$, $Tyr^{249}$ and $Phe^{264}$, in helix 7 of the Cry4Ba mosquito-larvicidal protein. All mutant toxins were overexpressed in Escherichia coli as 130-kDa protoxins at levels comparable to the wild-type. Bioassays against Stegomyia aegypti mosquito larvae revealed that only W243A, Y249A or F264A mutant toxins displayed a dramatic decrease in toxicity. Further mutagenic analysis showed that replacements with an aromatic residue particularly at $Tyr^{249}$ and $Phe^{264}$ still retained the high-level toxin activity. In addition, a nearly complete loss in larvicidal activity was found for Y249L/F264L or F264A/ Y249A double mutants, confirming the involvement in toxicity of both aromatic residues which face towards the same direction. Furthermore, the Y249L/F264L mutant was found to be structurally stable upon toxin solubilisation and trypsin digestion, albeit a small change in the circular dichroism spectrum. Altogether, the present study provides for the first time an insight into the highly conserved aromaticity of $Tyr^{249}$ and $Phe^{264}$ within helix 7 playing an important role in larvicidal activity of the Cry4Ba toxin.

• BMB Reports
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• 제37권3호
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• pp.292-297
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• 2004

The current model for the mechanism of action of the Bacillus thuringiensis Cry $\delta$-endotoxins involves the penetration of the ${\alpha}4-{\alpha}5$ hairpin into the target midgut epithelial cell membranes, followed by pore formation. In this study, PCR-based mutagenesis was employed to identify a critical residue within the ${\alpha}4-{\alpha}5$ loop of the 130-kDa Cry4A mosquito-larvicidal protein. Alanine-substitutions of two charged (Asp-198 and Asp-200) and four polar (Asn-190, Asn-195, Tyr-201 and Tyr-202) residues in the ${\alpha}4-{\alpha}5$ loop were performed. Like the wild-type, all of the mutant toxins were over-expressed as inclusion bodies in Escherichia coli. When E. coli cells expressing each mutant toxin were bioassayed against Aedes aegypti larvae, larvicidal activity was completely abolished for the substitution of only Tyr-202, while replacements at the other positions still retained a high level of toxicity. Further replacement of Tyr-202 with an aromatic side chain, phenylalanine, did not affect the toxicity. These results revealed a crucial role in toxin activity for the conserved aromatic residue at the 202 position within the ${\alpha}4-{\alpha}5$ loop of the Cry4A toxin.

• BMB Reports
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• 제34권4호
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• pp.293-298
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• 2001

Tryptic activation of the 130-kDa Bacillus thuringiensis Cry4B $\delta$-endotoxin produced protease-resistant products of ca. 47 kDa and ca. 21 kDa. The 21-kDa fragment was identified as the N-terminal five-helix bundle (${\alpha}1-{\alpha}5$,) which is a potential candidate for membrane insertion and pore formation. In this study, we constructed the recombinant clone over-expressing this putative pore-forming (PPF) fragment as inclusion bodies in Escherichia coli. The partially purified inclusions were composed of a 23-kDa protein, which cross-reacted with Cry4B antibodies, and whose N-terminus was identical to that of the 130-kDa protein. Dissimilar to protoxin inclusions, the PPF inclusions were only soluble when the carbonate buffer, pH 9.0, was supplemented with 6 M urea. After renaturation via a stepwise dialysis, the refolded PPF protein appeared to exist as an oligomer and was structurally stable upon trypsin treatment. Unlike the 130kDa protoxin, the refolded protein was able to release entrapped glucose from liposomes, and showed comparable activity to the full-length activated toxin, although it lacks larvicidal activity These results, therefore, support the notion that the PPF fragment that consists of ${\alpha}1-{\alpha}5$ of the activated Cry4B toxin is involved in membrane pore-formation.

• BMB Reports
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• 제34권5호
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• pp.402-407
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• 2001

Based on the currently proposed toxicity model for the different Bacillus thuringiensis Cry $\delta$-endotoxins, their pore-forming activity involves the insertion of the ${\alpha}4-{\alpha}5$ helical hairpin into the membrane of the target midgut epithelial cell. In this study, a number of polar or charged residues in helix 4 within domain I of the 65-kDa dipteranactive Cry11A toxin, Lys-123, Tyr-125, Asn-128, Ser-130, Gln-135, Arg-136, Gln-139 and Glu-141, were initially substituted with alanine by using PCR-based directed mutagenesis. All mutant toxins were expressed as cytoplasmic inclusions in Escherichia coli upon induction with IPTG. Similar to the wild-type protoxin inclusion, the solubility of each mutant inclusion in the carbonate buffer, pH 9.0, was relatively low When E. coli cells, expressing each of the mutant proteins, were tested for toxicity against Aedes aegypti mosquito-larvae, toxicity was completely abolished for the alanine substitution of arginine at position 136. However, mutations at the other positions still retained a high level of larvicidal activity Interestingly, further analysis of this critical arginine residue by specific mutagenesis showed that conversions of arginine-136 to aspartate, glutamine, or even to the most conserved residue lysine, also abolished the wild-type activity The results of this study revealed an important determinant in toxin function for the positively charged side chain of arginine-136 in helix 4 of the Cry11A toxin.

• BMB Reports
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• 제40권1호
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• pp.58-64
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• 2007

Similar to the other known structures of Bacillus thuringiensis Cry $\delta$-endotoxins, the crystal structure of the 65-kDa activated Cry4Ba toxin comprises three domains which are, from the N- to C-terminus, a bundle of $\alpha$-helices, a three-$\beta$-sheet domain, and a $\beta$-sandwich. To investigate the properties of the C-terminal domain III in isolation from the rest of the toxin, the cloned Cry4Ba-domain III was over-expressed as a 21-kDa soluble protein in Escherichia coli, which cross-reacted with anti-Cry4Ba domain III monoclonal antibody. A highly-purified domain III was obtained in a monomeric form by ion-exchange and size-exclusion FPLC. Circular dichroism spectroscopy indicated that the isolated domain III fragment distinctly exists as a $\beta$-sheet structure, corresponding to the domain III structure embodied in the Cry4Ba crystal structure. In vitro binding analysis via immuno-histochemical assay revealed that the Cry4Ba-domain III protein was able to bind to the apical microvilli of the susceptible Stegomyia aegypti larval midguts, albeit at lower-binding activity when compared with the full-length active toxin. These results demonstrate for the first time that the C-terminal domain III of the Cry4Ba mosquito-larvicidal protein, which can be isolated as a native folded monomer, conceivably participates in toxin-receptor recognition.

• 한국잠사곤충학회지
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• 제37권2호
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• pp.176-180
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• 1995

나비목과 파리목 곤충에 독성을 보이는 B. thuringiensis NT0423을 수용체로 하여 형질전환된 B. thuringiensis PT0529에서 원래 수용체가 생성하는 내독소 단백질과 도입된 CryIVD 및 CytA 단백질들간의 발현 특성을 분석하기 위하여, B. thuringiensis PT0529에서 내독소 단백질들간의 발현을 성장 과정에 따라 투과 전자 현미경 관찰 및 단백질 전기영동으로 분석하였다. 그 결과, B. thuringiensis PT0529에서 내독소 단백질의 발현은 원래의 수용체 내독소 단백질보다 도입된 CryIVD와 CytA가 먼저 합성되었으며, 그 발현량에 있어서도 높게 나타났다. 또한, B. thuringiensis PT0529에서 세가지 내독소 단백질은 그들 자신의 고유 형태로 잘 발현되었으나, 수용체인 B. thuringiensis NT0423의 내독소 단백질은 그 크기에 있어서 다소 작게 관찰되었다. 따라서 형질전환체 내에서 도입된 내독소 단백질 유전자의 발현은 수용체의 내독소 단백질 유전자 발현에 영향을 받지 않는 반면 외부 유전자의 도입으로 인하여 수용체가 생성하는 내독소 단백질은 그 발현에 있어서 간섭을 받는 것으로 나타났다.