• Journal of Life Science
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.293-298
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• 1996

Thirteen subspecies of Bacillus thuringiensis including B. t. israelensis, B. t. morrisoni PG-14 and B.t. darmstadoemsos known to be toxic to dipteran insects were treated on the mushroom (Flammulina velutipes) compost to estimate the biological control effect of a sciarid fly, Lycoriella sp. According to the results, it was found that there were no significant effects of the tested strains of B, thuringiensis on the control of Lycoriella sp. For further confirmation, larval gut juice of Lycoriella sp. and trypsin were respectively treated into the parasporal crystal proteins of three subspecies of B. t. israelensis, B. t. morrisoni PG-14, and B. t. darmstadiensis. The proteins were separated by SDS-PAGE. According to the results, the major parasporal crystal proteins were respectively produced by B. t. morrisoni as the amount of 52 kd, B. y. israelensis as 37kd and B. t. darmstadiensis as 39kd, but the activity of these proteins could not be unfortunately confirmed in this study.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Sericultural Science Conference
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• 2003.04a
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• pp.31-32
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• 2003

Bacillus thuringiensis produces insecticidal parasporal inclusions (crystal protein) used as a major ingredient of most microbial insecticides. Although many B. thuringiensis strains and their crystal proteins have been isolated and characterized, such findings have limitation of usefulness. For enhanced toxicity, fast effects, and the delay of resistance development, research on genetic manipulation of crystal genes and proteins by genetic engineering should be continued. (omitted)

• BMB Reports
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.323-328
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• 2011

We screened four B. thuringiensis strains whose parasporal inclusions contained the S-layer protein (SLP), and cloned two slp genes from each strain. Phylogenetic analysis indicated these SLPs could be divided into two groups, SLP1s and SLP2s. To confirm whether SLPs were present in the S-layer or as a parasporal inclusion, strains CTC and BMB1152 were chosen for further study. Western blots with isolated S-layer proteins from strains CTC and BMB1152 in the vegetative phase showed that SLP1s and SLP2s were constituents of the S-layer. Immunofluorescence utilizing spore-inclusion mixtures of strains CTC and BMB1152 in the sporulation phase showed that SLP1s and SLP2s were also constituents of parasporal inclusions. When heterogeneously expressed in the crystal negative strain BMB171, four SLPs from strains CTC and BMB1152 could also form parasporal inclusions. This temporal and spatial expression is not an occasional phenomenon but ubiquitous in B. thuringiensis strains.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.173-177
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• 1996

Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. morrisoni PG-14 is a gram-positive soil bacterium producing mosquitocidal parasporal inclusions composed of several crystal proteins. Among these crystal protein genes, cryIVD gene is one of major component which has 72 kDa in size. However, these parasporal inclusions sink quickly from the surface of water where mosquito larval feeding occurred. To develope mosquitocidal cyanobacterium, therefore, we constructed the expression vector, pCYASK 5-1 harboring cryIVD gene. The expression vector, pCYASK5-1 was transformed into the cyanobacterium Syne- chocystis PCC6803 reported as a natural mosquito larval food source and the transformants were selected with kanamycin. Expression of IVD gene in transformant was characterized by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) and immunoblot analysis. The mosquitocidal activity of a transformant was determined with Culex tritaeniorhynchus. The results showed that, the transformed cyanobacterium is toxic to mosquito larvae and will be expected as a potential agent that is used for mosquito control.

• Journal of Sericultural and Entomological Science
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.41-48
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• 1992

Dissolution and degradation of the parasporal crystal proteins produced from B. thuringiensis var. kurstaki, B. thuringiensis var. dendrolimus and B. thuringiensis var. aizawai were investigated. SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis showed that the crystals contained major protein with molecular weight of approximately 134 kDa for B. thuringiensis var. aizawai 143 kDa for B. thuringiensis var. kurstaki and 149 kDa for B. thuringiensis var. dendrolimus, respectively. Crystals of three other strains were incubated alkali solutions at various pH or gut juice of Silkwarm Bombyx mori, Fall webworm Hyphantria cunea, and Common Cabbage worm Pieris rapae. When crystals of these strains were solubilized by alkali solutions, no major differences among strains B. thuringiensis could be detected. Among the strains studied, crystal protins (130-66 kDa) consist of protease resistant polypeptides in the 45-66 kDa size range when treated with gut juice of three insect species.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.1057-1062
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• 2004

The entomopathogenic bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis is the most widely used biopesticide. Insecticidal proteins, coded by genes located in plasmids, form typical parasporal, crystalline inclusions during sporulation. We isolated a Bacillus thuringiensis strain having insecticidal activity against larvae of the house fly (M. domestica) from the soils at a pig farm in Korea, and named it Bacillus thuringiensis SM. The culture filtrate from Bacillus thuringiensis SM showed strong lethality (83.3%) against M. domestica larvae. The parasporal crystal is enclosed within the spores' outermost envelope, as determined by transmission electron microscopy, and exhibited a bipyramidal form. The crystal proteins of strain SM consisted of five proteins with molecular weights of approximately ~130, ~80, ~68, ~42, and ~27 kDa on a 10% SDS-PAGE (major band, a size characteristic of Cry protein). Examination of antibiotic resistance revealed that the strain SM showed multiple resistant. The strain SM had at least three different plasmids with sizes of 6.6, 9.3, and 54 kb. Polymerase chain reactions (PCRs) revealed the presence of cry1, cry4A2, and cry11A1 genes in the strain SM. The cry1 gene profile of the strain SM appeared in the three respective products of 487 bp [cry1A(c)], 414 bp [cry1D], and 238 bp [cry1A(b)]. However, the strain SM has not shown the cry4A2 md cry11A1 genes. In in vivo toxicity assays, the strain SM showed high toxicity on fly larvae (M. domestic) [with $LC_{50}$ of 4.2 mg/ml, $LC_{90}$ of 8.2 mg/ml].

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.178-183
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• 1994

The prolein components of each crystal toxin of Bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki and alzawai were separated by SDS-PAGE. The major clqistal proteins from both shins were composed of paiypeptides having molecular weights of 130 kd and 64 kd. Digestive mixture of both. toxins with t~ypsin and gut juices shared 62 kd polypeptide which may be major actwe toxh. However, aizawal produced much less amount of 62 kd polypeptide than kurstaki did. On ingestion with Bt &-endotoxin, larvae of Hyphantria cunea developed 45 kd stress protein in the several tissues including fat body, which was induced by heat and cold shock.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.19-23
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• 2001

Two B. thuringiensis strains, which possess mosquitocidal activities, were isolated from Korean soil samples and named K-1205-1 and K-1381-1. Serological studies indicated that K-1205-1 and K-1381-1 belonged to B. thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki (H3a3b3c) and subsp. aizawai (H7), respectively. K-1205-1 produced typical bipyramidal parasporal inclusions, but K-1381-1 produced irregular bipyramidal shape. Total plasmid DNA patterns analysis shewed that K-1205-1 and K- 1381-1 were different from their reference strains, subsp. kurstaki and subsp. aizawai, respectively, in high molecules, whereas their crystal protein patterns showed no difference. The cry gene contents of K-1205-1 and K-1381-1 were identical with those of the reference strains. Mosquitocidal activities of crystal proteins produced by K-1205-1 and K-1381-1 were significantly high by about 40-50 folds at $LC_50$ when compared to those of subsp. kurstaki and subsp. aizawai. Finally, in southern blot analysis using cry1A-type specific probe, K-1205-1 and K-1381-1 had different bands from subsp. kurstaki and subsp. aizawai, respectively. In conclusion, our results suggest that K-1205-1 and K-1381-1 appear to be new moquitocidal B. thuringiensis strains isolated from Korean soil.