• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• 제8권1호
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• pp.89-93
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• 2004

Expression of a fusion protein between B. thuringiensis crystal protein, Cry1Ac1 and a scorpion insect toxin (AaIT, Androctonus australis Hector insect toxin) in acrystalliferous B. thuringiensis strain (Cry-B strain) was examined. The cry 1Ac1 gene was cloned in B. thuringiensis-E coli shuttle vector, pHT3101, under the control of the native cry 1Ac1 gene promoter (pProAc) and a gene encoding AaIT was inserted in XhoI site in the middle of the cry 1Ac1 gene (pProAc-ScoR). B. thuringiensis Cry-B strain carrying pProAc-ScoR (PyoAc-ScoR/CB) produced an inclusion body of irregular shape and the expressed fusion protein is approximately 65 kDa in size. Sporulated cells and spore-crystal mixtures of ProAc-ScoR/CB had insecticidal activity against Plutella xylostella larvae, showing $LT_50$ of ProAc-ScoR/CB (22.59 hrs) lower than that of ProAc/CB (30.06 hrs) at $1{\times}{10^7} {CEU/cm^2}$. These results suggest that the fusion protein including a B. thuringiensis crystal protein and an AaIT may be functionally expressed in B. thupingiensis. Moreover, we verified the additive toxicity of AaIT, which is a new feasible candidate for insect control.

• 한국미생물·생명공학회지
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• 제18권6호
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• pp.647-652
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• 1990

Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki HD1의 내 독소생산과 내독소단백질 유전자의 클로닝에 관한 연구를 하였다. 상기 균주는 아포생성기간 중에 이중피라미드형의 내독소를 생산하였고, 크리는 약 $2.9\times 1.0 \mu m$이었다. 상기 균주는 약 10개의 플라수미드 DNA를 가지고 있었으며, 플라스미드의 분자량의 범위는 2.1에서 80kilobases였다. 플라스미드 73kb, BamHI 절단 29Kb DNA 단편과 PstI 절단 7.9Kb DNA는 Probe DNA와 혼성화되었다. PstI 7.9Kb DNA를 추출하여 운반체인 pBR322 운반체의 PstI 절단부위에 삽입하여 클로닝한 후에 E.coli HB101 균주에 형질전환하였으며, 이 클로운을 pKL-20-1로 명명했고 이 형질전환체는 Bombyxmori 유충을 치사시키는 독소물질을 생산하였다.

• BMB Reports
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• 제40권5호
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• pp.773-782
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• 2007

Different isolates of the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis produce multiple crystal (Cry) proteins toxic to a variety of insects, nematodes and protozoans. These insecticidal Cry toxins are known to be active against specific insect orders, being harmless to mammals, birds, amphibians, and reptiles. Due to these characteristics, genes encoding several Cry toxins have been engineered in order to be expressed by a variety of crop plants to control insectpests. The cotton boll weevil, Anthonomus grandis, and the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda, are the major economically devastating pests of cotton crop in Brazil, causing severe losses, mainly due to their endophytic habit, which results in damages to the cotton boll and floral bud structures. A cry1Ia-type gene, designated cry1Ia12, was isolated and cloned from the Bt S811 strain. Nucleotide sequencing of the cry1Ia12 gene revealed an open reading frame of 2160 bp, encoding a protein of 719 amino acid residues in length, with a predicted molecular mass of 81 kDa. The amino acid sequence of Cry1Ia12 is 99% identical to the known Cry1Ia proteins and differs from them only in one or two amino acid residues positioned along the three domains involved in the insecticidal activity of the toxin. The recombinant Cry1Ia12 protein, corresponding to the cry1Ia12 gene expressed in Escherichia coli cells, showed moderate toxicity towards first instar larvae of both cotton boll weevil and fall armyworm. The highest concentration of the recombinant Cry1Ia12 tested to achieve the maximum toxicities against cotton boll weevil larvae and fall armyworm larvae were 230 ${\mu}g/mL$ and 5 ${\mu}g/mL$, respectively. The herein demonstrated insecticidal activity of the recombinant Cry1Ia12 toxin against cotton boll weevil and fall armyworm larvae opens promising perspectives for the genetic engineering of cotton crop resistant to both these devastating pests in Brazil.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제1권4호
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• pp.240-245
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• 1991

We have constructed a promoter-probe vector pKU20 using pKT230, a derivative of broad-host-range plsmid RSF1010, as a base. The pKU20 contains structural gene for aminoglycoside phos-photransferase (aph), without promoter, and a multiple cloning site upstream the aph. Using this vector, a 412base pairs (bp) PstI fragment showing strong promoter activity both in Escherichia coli LE392 and Pseudomonas putida KCTC1644 has been cloned from Pseudomonas fluorescens chromosomal DNA on the basis of streptomycin resistance. The nucleotide sequence of the 412 bp fragment has been determined and the putative - 35 and -10 region was observed. Insecticidal protein gene of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki HD-73 inserted on downstream of the promoterlike DNA fragment was efficiently expressed in E. coli and P. putida. The toxin protein was efficiently synthesized in an insoluble form in both strains.

• BMB Reports
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• 제47권10호
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• pp.546-551
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• 2014

The insecticidal activity of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) Cry toxins involves toxin stabilization, oligomerization, passage across the peritrophic membrane (PM), binding to midgut receptors and pore-formation. The residues Arg-158 and Tyr-170 have been shown to be crucial for the toxicity of Bt Cry4Ba. We characterized the biological function of these residues. In mosquito larvae, the mutants R158A/E/Q (R158) could hardly penetrate the PM due to a significantly reduced ability to alter PM permeability; the mutant Y170A, however, could pass through the PM, but degraded in the space between the PM and the midgut epithelium. Further characterization by oligomerization demonstrated that Arg-158 mutants failed to form correctly sized high-molecular weight oligomers. This is the first report that Arg-158 plays a role in the formation of Cry4Ba oligomers, which are essential for toxin passage across the PM. Tyr-170, meanwhile, is involved in toxin stabilization in the toxic mechanism of Cry4Ba in mosquito larvae.

• 식물조직배양학회지
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• 제24권5호
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• pp.305-311
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• 1997

Bacillus thuringiensis는 그람 양성 토양 세균으로 포자형성시 결정화된 내포체를 형성하는데, 이 내포체를 구성하는 결정단백질은 각 곤충에 대하여 특이적인 독성을 나타낸다. 살충성 결정단백질 중 Cry II A 결정단백질은 인시류와 쌍시류 곤충에 모두 특이적으로 작용한다. 결정단백질은 살충제로서 불안정하고 포장에서 지속성이 낮은 단점을 가지고 있으므로, 본 연구에서는 Cry II A 결정단백질 유전자가 형질전환된 담배 식물을 제작하고자 하였다. cry IIA 유전자가 삽입된 벡터를 대장균에 형질전환한 후, 알칼리 용액에 대한 용해도의 차이를 이용하여 Cry II A 결정단백질(70 kDa)을 분리하였고, 분리한 Cry II A 결정단백질을 trypsin 처리하여 활성화된 Cry II A (50 kDa)를 확인하였다. 식물 형질전환을 위하여 두 개의 CaMV 35S promoters에 의해 발현이 조절되는 식물 발현 벡터에 cry II A 유전자를 클로닝 하였다. 이 식물 발현 벡터를 Agrobacterium을 이용한 엽편형질 전환을 통해 담배(N. tabacum var. Petit Havana SRI)에 형질전환 시켰으며, 재분화 과정을 거쳐 여섯 개체의 형질전환 식물체를 얻었다. Southern blot을 통하여 분석한 결과 세 개체 내에 cry II A 유전자가 존재하였는데, 한 개체에는 하나의 cry II A 유전자가, 또 한 개체에는 두 개의 cry II A 유전자가, 다른 한 개체에는 잘려진 형태의 cry II A 유전자가 존재함을 확인할 수 있었다. 본 연구를 통하여 얻어진 cry II A 형질전환 식물체는 살충성 검정 등을 거친 후 내충성 식물 생산 및 후대 유전 양상 분석을 위한 기초 자료로 이용될 수 있을 것이다.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• 제34권1호
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• pp.35-43
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• 2018

Root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) are parasites that attack many field crops and orchard trees, and affect both the quantity and quality of the products. A root-colonizing bacterium, Pseudomonas chlororaphis O6, possesses beneficial traits including strong nematicidal activity. To determine the molecular mechanisms involved in the nematicidal activity of P. chlororaphis O6, we constructed two mutants; one lacking hydrogen cyanide production, and a second lacking an insecticidal toxin, FitD. Root drenching with wild-type P. chlororaphis O6 cells caused juvenile mortality in vitro and in planta. Efficacy was not altered in the fitD mutant compared to the wild-type but was reduced in both bioassays for the mutant lacking hydrogen cyanide production. The reduced number of galls on tomato plants caused by the wild-type strain was comparable to that of a standard chemical nematicide. These findings suggest that hydrogen cyanide-producing root colonizers, such as P. chlororaphis O6, could be formulated as "green" nematicides that are compatible with many crops and offer agricultural sustainability.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제17권9호
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• pp.1498-1503
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• 2007

To identify novel crystal proteins, Bacillus thuringiensis 2385-1 was isolated from Korean soil samples and characterized. The H-serotype of 2385-1 was identical to that of subsp. kenyae (H4a4c), and its crystal toxin was bipyramidal-shaped. However, 2385-1 showed a much higher toxicity towards Plutella xylostella and Spodoptera exigua larvae than subsp. kenyae. In addition, the crystal protein profile and plasmid DNA pattern of 2385-1 differed from those of subsp. kenyae. To verify the crystal protein gene types of 2385-1, a PCR-RFLP analysis was performed, and the results revealed that 2385-1 contained two novel cry1-type crystal protein genes, cryl-5 and cry1-12, in addition to the crylJal gene. The deduced amino acid sequences of cryl-5 and cry1-12 showed a 97.9% and 75.7% sequence similarity with the CrylAb and CrylJa crystal proteins, respectively. Among the novel crystal proteins, Cry1-5 showed a high toxicity towards P. xylostella and S. exigua larvae. In conclusion, B. thuringiensis 2385-1 is a new isolate in terms of its gene types, and should be a promising source for an insecticide to control lepidopteran larvae.

• 한국잠사학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국잠사학회 2003년도 International Symposium of Silkworm/Insect Biotechnology and Annual Meeting of Korea Society of Sericultural Science
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• pp.114-115
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• 2003

A Bacillus thuringiensis isolate, Bt 2385-1, which showed toxicity to lepidopteran, was isolated from Korean soil sample and characterized. PCR-RFLP showed that this isolate contains two novel cryl-type crystal protein genes. In this study, we designed cryl-type specific primer set (ATG1-F and N400-R) to clone the toxic domain of the all cryl-type genes. The two novel rlyl-type toxin genes in addition to crylJal gene were cloned and sequenced. (omitted)

• BMB Reports
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• 제36권3호
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• pp.294-298
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• 2003

The pathological effect of the Bacillus thuringiensis Cry $\delta$-endotoxins on susceptible insect larvae had extensive damage on the midgut epithelial cells. In this study, an ex vivo assay was devised for assessing the insecticidal potency of the cloned Cry4B mosquito-larvicidal protein that is expressed in Escherichia coli. Determination of toxicity was carried out by using a cell viability assay on the midguts that were dissected from 5-day old Aedes aegypti mosquito larvae. After incubation with the toxin proteins, the number of viable epithelial cells was determined photometrically by monitoring the quantity of the bioreduced formazan product at 490 nm. The results showed that the 65-kDa trypsin-activated Cry4B toxin exhibited toxic potency ca. 3.5 times higher than the 130-kDa Cry4B protoxin. However, the trypsin-treated products of the non-bioactive Cry4B mutant (R158A) and the lepidopteran-specific Cry1Aa toxin displayed relatively no ex vivo activity on the mosquito-larval midguts. The ex vivo cytotoxicity studies presented here confirms data that was obtained in bioassays.