Archives of Microbiology (2021) 203, 1649-1656

Mónica García-Montelongo, Sebastián E. González-Villarreal, Ma. Cristina Del Rincón-Castro and Jorge E. Ibarra (2021)
Use of RNAi as a preliminary tool for screening putative receptors of nematicidal toxins from Bacillus thuringiensis
Archives of Microbiology 203 (4), 1649-1656
Abstract: Bacillus thuringiensis is a potential control agent for plant–parasitic nematodes. Nematode intestinal receptors for Cry21-type toxins are poorly known. Therefore, a strategy was tested as a primary screening tool to find possible Cry toxin receptors, using a nematicidal Bt strain and the RNAi technique on Caenorhabditis elegans. Six genes encoding intestinal membrane proteins were selected (abt-4, bre-1, bre-2, bre-3, asps-1, abl-1) as possible targets for Cry proteins. Fractions of each selected gene were amplified by PCR. Amplicons were cloned into the L4440 vector to transform the E. coli HT155 (DE3) strain. Transformed bacteria were used to silence the selected genes using the RNAi feeding method. Nematodes with silenced genes were tested with the Bt strain LBIT-107, which harbors the nematicidal protein Cry21Aa3, among others. Results indicated that nematodes with the silenced abt-4 gene were 69.5% more resistant to the LBIT-107 strain, in general, and 79% to the Cry21Aa3 toxin, specifically.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Jorge E. Ibarra

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
biocontrol - natural enemies
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
evaluation - screening - selection
molecular biology - genes

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
Bacillus thuringiensis Cry21A-toxin (against nematodes)