Location via proxy:   [ UP ]  
[Report a bug]   [Manage cookies]                
Skip to main content

Co-expression and Synergism Analysis of Vip3Aa29 and Cyt2Aa3 Insecticidal Proteins from Bacillus thuringiensis

  • Published:
Current Microbiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Vegetative insecticidal protein (Vip3) from Bacillus thuringiensis shows high activity against lepidopteran insects. Cytolytic δ-endotoxin (Cyt) also has high toxicity to dipteran larvae and synergism with other crystal proteins (Cry), but synergism between Cyt and Vip3 proteins has not been tested. We analyzed for synergism between Cyt2Aa3 and Vip3Aa29. Both cyt2Aa3 and vip3Aa29 genes were co-expressed in Escherichia coli strain BL21 carried on vector pCOLADuet-1. Vip3Aa29 showed insecticidal activity against Chilo suppressalis and Spodoptera exigua, with 50% lethal concentration (LC50) at 24.0 and 36.6 μg ml−1, respectively. It could also inhibit Helicoverpa armigera growth, with 50% inhibition concentration at 22.6 μg ml−1. While Cyt2Aa3 was toxic to Culex quinquefasciatus (LC50: 0.53 μg ml−1) and Chironomus tepperi (LC50: 36 μg ml−1), it did not inhibit C. suppressalis, S. exigua, and H. armigera. However, the co-expression of Cyt2Aa3 and Vip3Aa29 showed synergistic effect on C. suppressalis and S. exigua, and the individual activities were strengthened 3.35- and 4.34-fold, respectively. The co-expression had no synergism against C. tepperi and H. armigera, but exerted some antagonistic effect on Cx. quinquefasciatus. The synergism between Cyt2Aa and Vip3Aa was thus discovered for the first time, which confirmed that Cyt toxin can enhance the toxicity of other toxins against some non-target insects. By synergism analysis, the effectiveness of microbial insecticides can be verified.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Adamczyk JJ, Mahaffey JS (2008) Efficacy of Vip3A and Cry1Ab transgenic traits in cotton against various lepidopteran pests. Fla Entomol 91(4):570–575

    Google Scholar 

  2. Bhalla R, Dalal M, Panguluri SK, Jagadish B, Mandaokar AD, Singh AK, Kumar PA (2005) Isolation, characterization and expression of a novel vegetative insecticidal protein gene of Bacillus thuringiensis. FEMS Microbiol Lett 243(2):467–472

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Bravo A, Gill SS, Soberón M (2007) Mode of action of Bacillus thuringiensis Cry and Cyt toxins and their potential for insect control. Toxicon 49:423–435

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Bravo A, Soberón M (2008) How to cope with insect resistance to Bt toxins? Trends Biotechnol 26(10):573–579

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Burkness EC, Dively G, Patton T, Morey AC, Hutchison WD (2010) Novel Vip3A Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) maize approaches high-dose efficacy against Helicoverpa zea (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) under field conditions: implications for resistance management. GM Crops 1(5):337–343

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Crickmore N, Bone EJ, Williams JA, Ellar DJ (1995) Contribution of the individual components of the δ-endotoxin crystal to the mosquitocidal activity of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis. FEMS Microbiol Lett 131(3):249–254

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Crickmore N, Zeigler DR, Feitelson J, Schnepf E, Van Rie J, Lereclus D, Baum J, Dean DH (1998) Revision of the nomenclature for the Bacillus thuringiensis pesticidal crystal proteins. Microbiol Mol Biol Rev 62:807–813

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Estruch JJ, Warren GW, Mullins MA, Nye GJ, Craig JA, Koziel MG (1996) Vip3A, a novel Bacillus thuringiensis vegetative insecticidal protein with a wide spectrum of activities against lepidopteran insects. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 93:5389–5394

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Fang J, Xu X, Wang P, Zhao J, Shelton AM, Cheng J, Feng M, Shen Z (2007) Characterization of chimeric Bacillus thuringiensis Vip3 toxins. Appl Environ Microbiol 73:956–961

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Federici BA, Bauer AS (1998) Cyt1Aa Protein of Bacillus thuringiensis is toxic to the cottonwood leaf beetle, Chrysomela scripta, and suppresses high levels of resistance to Cry3Aa. Appl Environ Microbiol 64(11):4368–4371

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Guerchicoff A, Delecluse A, Rubinstein CP (2001) The Bacillus thuringiensis cyt genes for hemolytic endotoxins constitute a gene family. Appl Environ Microbiol 67(3):1090–1096

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Höfte H, Whiteley HR (1989) Insecticidal crystal proteins of Bacillus thuringiensis. Microbiol Rev 53:242–255

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Hughes PA, Stevens MM, Park H, Federici BA, Dennis ES, Akhurst R (2005) Response of larval Chironomus tepperi (Diptera: Chironomidae) to individual Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis toxins. J Invertebr Pathol 88:34–39

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Knowles BH, Blatt MR, Tester M, Horsnell JM, Carroll J, Menestrina G, Ellar DJ (1989) A cytolytic δ-endotoxin from Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis forms cation-selective channels in planar lipid bilayers. FEBS Lett 244:259–262

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Knowles BH, Ellar DJ (1987) Colloid-osmotic lysis is a general feature of the mechanism of action of Bacillus thuringiensis δ-endotoxins with different specificity. Biochim Biophys Acta 924:509–518

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Lee M, Miles P, Chen J (2006) Brush border membrane binding properties of Bacillus thuringiensis Vip3A toxin to Heliothis virescens and Helicoverpa zea midguts. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 339(4):1043–1047

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Liu J, Yang A, Shen X, Hua B, Shi G (2011) Specific binding of activared Vip3Aa10 to Helicoverpa armigera brush border membrane vesicles results in pore formation. J Invertebr Pathol 108:92–97

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Martin AWP, Travers RS (1989) Worldwide abundance and distribution of Bacillus thuringiensis isolates. Appl Environ Microbiol 55:2437–2442

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Meyer SK, Tabashnik BE, Liu YB, Wirth MC, Federici BA (2001) Cyt1A from Bacillus thuringiensis lacks toxicity to susceptible and resistant larvae of diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella) and pink bollworm (Pectinophora gossypiella). Appl Environ Microbiol 67(1):462–463

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Pomdonkoy B, Chewawiwat N, Tanapongpipat S, Luxananil P, Panyim S (2003) Cloning and characterization of a cytolytic and mosquito larvicidal δ-endotoxin from Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. darmstadiensis. Curr Microbiol 46:94–98

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Promdonkoy B, Promdonkoy P, Panyim S (2005) Co-expression of Bacillus thuringiensis Cry4Ba and Cyt2Aa2 in Escherichia coli revealed high synergism against Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus larvae. FEMS Microbiol Lett 252(1):121–126

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Soberón M, Fernández LE, Pérez C, Gill SS, Bravo A (2007) Mode of action of mosquitocidal Bacillus thuringiensis toxins. Toxicon 4:597–600

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Tabashnik BE (1992) Evaluation of synergism among Bacillus thuringiensis toxins. Appl Environ Microbiol 58(10):3343–3346

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Wirth MC, Delecluse A, Walton WE (2001) Cyt1Ab1 and Cyt2Ba1 from Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. medellin and B. thuringiensis subsp. israelensis synergize Bacillus sphaericus against Aedes aegypti and resistant Culex quinquefasciatus (Diptera: Culicidae). Appl Environ Microbiol 67(7):3280–3284

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Wirth MC, Park HW, Walton WE, Federici BA (2005) Cyt1A of Bacillus thuringiensis delays evolution of resistance to Cry11A in the mosquito Culex quinquefasciatus. Appl Environ Microbiol 71(1):185–189

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Wu D, Johnson JJ, Federeci BA (1994) Synergism of mosquitocidal toxicity between CytA and CryIVD proteins using inclusions produced from cloned genes of Bacillus thuringiensis. Mol Microbiol 13:965–972

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Yu X, Zheng A, Zhu J, Wang S, Wang L, Deng Q, Li S, Liu H, Li P (2010) Characterization of vegetative insecticidal protein vip genes of Bacillus thuringiensis from Sichuan basin in China. Curr Microbiol 62(3):752–757

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Zhu C, Ruan L, Peng D, Yu Z, Sun M (2005) Vegetative insecticidal protein enhancing the toxicity of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki against Spodoptera exigua. Lett Appl Microbiol 42:109–114

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by Chinese Major Project to Create New Crop Varieties Using Gene Transfer Technology (No. 2008ZX08001-001) for transgenic research, the Ministry of Agriculture of China (No. 2008ZX08009-003).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Aiping Zheng or Ping Li.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Yu, X., Liu, T., Sun, Z. et al. Co-expression and Synergism Analysis of Vip3Aa29 and Cyt2Aa3 Insecticidal Proteins from Bacillus thuringiensis . Curr Microbiol 64, 326–331 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-011-0070-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-011-0070-7

Keywords