• 한국미생물·생명공학회지
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• 제25권6호
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• pp.566-570
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• 1997

During sporulation, Bacillus thuringiensis strains produce crystals consist of toxin proteins highly specific against insect pests. Their host specificities are desirable from a standpoint of environmental safety, but also limit market potential. Thus, development of improved Bacillus thuringiensis strains having broad host spectrum will contribute to increase its use. For the construction of Bacillus thuringiensis strain having broad host spectrum, we cloned cry1C gene encoding a toxin protein highly toxic against Spodoptera exigua from a B. thuringiensis isolate and constructed two recombinant plasmids, pUBClC and plC60. The plasmid PUBC1C has a replication origin of the natural plasmid pBC16 from B. cereus which is closely related species to B. thuringiensis, and the pBC16 was known to be replicated by rolling-circle mechanism. The plasmid pIC60 has a replication origin of a resident 60 MDa plasmid from B. thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki HD263, and it is believed that the pIC60 is replicated in a theta mode. The two plasmids were introduced into B. thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki cryB strain, and the transformed strains produced well-shaped bipyramidal crystals. We confirmed the expression of the cry1C gene by SDS-PAGE, and Western blotting. By investigating the segregational stability, it was found that the plasmid pIC60 is more stable than the pUBC1C.

• 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.

• 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.

• Plant Biotechnology Reports
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• 제3권4호
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• pp.317-324
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• 2009

The insecticidal toxin gene of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is one of the most commonly used in the development of genetically modified (GM) crops. In this research, we analyzed Bt rice showing lepidopteran pest-resistance. The Bt gene is a synthetic Cry1Ac composed of optimal codons for plants, and the Bt protein is targeted to the chloroplast by a transit peptide. Three Cry1Ac rice events (C103-3, C127-1, and C7-1) were analyzed for molecular characterization. C103-3 contains two copies of T-DNA where the left border (LB) region is truncated. Both C7-1 and C127-1 have a single copy of T-DNA, but a part of the vector backbone DNA is inserted into the genome of C127-1; thus, only C7-1 had intact T-DNA. Progenies of C7-1 crossed with the original cultivar, Nakdong, and double-haploid lines from anther culture of lines crossed with the elite cultivar, Dongjin, were analyzed for T-DNA flanking genomic DNA and genotyping. Results showed that an intact T-DNA region without the vector backbone was inserted into the genome and was stably inherited through generations. The C7-1 homozygous event could be used as breeding material to develop GM rice with pest resistance.

• 한국잠사학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국잠사학회 2002년도 Join Meetings of Korean Society of Sericultural Science and Japanse Society of Sericultural Science
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• pp.121-121
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• 2002

No Abstract, See Full Text

• BMB Reports
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• 제36권5호
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• pp.508-513
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• 2003

The bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis produces toxin inclusions that are deleterious to target insect larvae. These toxins are believed to interact with a specific receptor protein(s) that is present on the gut epithelial cells of the larvae. In various insect species (in particular those belonging to the lepidopteran class), aminopeptidase N (APN) is one of the two receptor proteins that are considered to be involved in toxin-receptor interactions. However, in mosquitoes, the nature and identity of the receptor protein is unknown. Here, using RT-PCR, we identified two isoforms of the APN transcripts in the Aedes aegypti mosquito larval midgut. These results are congruent with a previous report of multiple isoforms of the APN gene expression in lepidopteran larvae. Which of the two isoforms (or other yet unidentified receptor proteins) is involved in the killing of mosquito larvae remains to be elucidated.

• BMB Reports
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• 제37권3호
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• pp.304-313
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• 2004

Three-dimensional (3D) models for the 65-kDa activated Cry4A and Cry4B $\delta$-endotoxins from Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis that are specifically toxic to mosquito-larvae were constructed by homology modeling, based on atomic coordinates of the Cry1Aa and Cry3Aa crystal structures. They were structurally similar to the known structures, both derived 3D models displayed a three-domain organization: the N-terminal domain (I) is a seven-helix bundle, while the middle and C-terminal domains are primarily comprise of anti-parallel $\beta$-sheets. Circular dichroism spectroscopy confirmed the secondary structural contents of the two homology-based Cry4 structures. A structural analysis of both Cry4 models revealed the following: (a) Residues Arg-235 and Arg-203 are located in the interhelical 5/6 loop within the domain I of Cry4A and Cry4B, respectively. Both are solvent exposed. This suggests that they are susceptible to tryptic cleavage. (b) The unique disulphide bond, together with a proline-rich region within the long loop connecting ${\alpha}4$ and ${\alpha}5$ of Cry4A, were identified. This implies their functional significance for membrane insertion. (c) Significant structural differences between both models were found within domain II that may reflect their different activity spectra. Structural insights from this molecular modeling study would therefore increase our understanding of the mechanic aspects of these two closely related mosquito-larvicidal proteins.

• 한국잠사학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국잠사학회 2005년도 제48회 춘계 학술연구 발표회
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• pp.49-49
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• 2005

• BMB Reports
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• 제34권2호
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• pp.150-155
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• 2001

The mosquito-larvicidal Cry4B protein from Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensds was expressed in Escherichia coli. Upon activation by trypsin, the 130-kDa protoxin was processed into the 65-kDa active toxin containing two polypeptide fragments of ca. 47 and ca. 20 kDa. These two polypeptides are products of internal cleavages on the exposed loop connecting helices 5 and 6 in the seven-helical bundle domain. PCR-based mutagenesis was employed to introduce an additional cleavage site into the loop connecting helices 3 and 4. A series of amino acid changes were introduced into the targeted loop, resulting in seven mutant protoxins. Upon digestion with trypsin, a group of mutants with arginine introduced into the loop (EPRNQ, EPNRNQ, EPRNP, ESRNP and SSRNP) produced polypeptide products similar to those of the wild type (EPNNQ). When the loop, SSRNP, was expanded by an insertion of either asparagine (NSSRNP) or valine (VSSRNP), an additional cleavage was detected with proteolytic products of 47,12 and 6 kDa. This cleavage was confirmed to be at the introduced arginine residue by N-terminal sequencing. The mosquito larvicidal assay against Aedes aegypti demonstrated a relatively unchanged toxicity for the mutants without cleavage and reduced toxicity for those with an additional cleavage.

• 한국응용곤충학회지
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• 제53권2호
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• pp.193-197
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• 2014

해충저항성 유전자변형 작물은 대상 해충에 대한 방제 효과를 증진시킬 수 있는 효과적인 수단이 될 수 있지만, 생태계 내의 다른 비표적 생물에 부정적인 영향을 줄 가능성 또한 있기 때문에 상업적인 재배에 앞서 이에 대한 충분한 연구가 이루어져야 한다. 본 연구에서는 배추좀나방내성 유전자변형 Bt (Cry1Ac1)양배추가 비표적 곤충인 복숭아혹진딧물에 미치는 영향을 알아보기 위한 기초적인 실험으로서 기주선택실험 및 성장실험을 실시하였다. 기주선택실험에서, 두 개체씩의 Bt 양배추와 모본 양배추에 각각 10마리의 유시 성충(alate virginoparae)을 접종하고, 사흘간 생식(reproduction) 기회를 제공한 후 생산한 약충의 마리수를 측정한 결과, Bt 양배추와 모본 양배추에 낳은 약충의 수가 각각 $21.9{\pm}1.8$와 $22.5{\pm}2.2$로 비슷하였다. 성장실험에서, 갓 태어난 무시 약충(apterous virginoparae)을 Bt 양배추 및 모본 양배추를 기주로 하여 키웠을 때, 성충이 될 때까지 걸린 시간은 Bt 양배추와 모본 양배추에서 각각 $5.8{\pm}0.2$, $5.9{\pm}0.1$ 일(day)로 통계적으로 유의한 차이가 없었고, 개체군 생장률(rm) 또한 $0.7{\pm}0.1$, $0.8{\pm}0.1$로 유사하였다. 이상의 결과들로 볼때 Bt 양배추가 복숭아혹진딧물에 미치는 영향이 없거나 미미함을 알 수 있으나, 다양한 관점에서의 보완 연구가 더 필요하다.