Journal of Applied Microbiology (2003) 95, 23-28

S. Tounsi, N. Zouari and S. Jaoua (2003)
Cloning and study of the expression of a novel cry1Ia-type gene from Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki
Journal of Applied Microbiology 95 (1), 23-28
Abstract: Aims: Cloning and expression of a new cry1Ia-type gene of Bacillus thuringiensis.
Methods and Results: PCR amplification, using gene cry1I-specific primers revealed the presence of such a gene in the strain BNS3 of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki. The cloning and sequencing from BNS3 of the cry1Ia-type gene, called crybns3-3, showed an open reading frame of 2160-bp, encoding a protein of 719 amino acid residues. Both nucleotide and amino acid sequences similarity analysis revealed that the crybns3-3 is a new cry1Ia-type gene, presenting several differences from the cry1Ia-type genes. The study of the expression of crybns3-3 by Northern blot and RT-PCR showed that it was transcribed. The expression of crybns3-3 under the control of BtI and BtII promoters revealed that Crybns3-3 would co-crystallize with the endogenous delta-endotoxins.
Conclusions: crybns3-3 is a novel cry1Ia gene isolated from B. thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki strain BNS3.
Significance and Impact of the Study: The characteristics of crybns3-3 indicate that it is a new cry1Ia-type gene. Amino acid residue substitutions presented in Crybns3-3 could be exploited for both toxicity and specificity studies. Crybns3-3 would interact and co-crystallize at least partially with the endogenous delta-endotoxins of BNS3, and then participate in the formation of the parasporal crystal inclusions.
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Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Samir Jaoua, Slim Tounsi

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

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki (entomopathogen)
Bacillus thuringiensis Cry1I-toxin (entomopathogen)