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    Synergistic activity between Bacillus thuringiensis Cry1Ab and Cry1Ac toxins against maize stem borer (Chilo partellus Swinhoe)
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    Abstract:
    Aim: To select a toxin combination for the management of maize stem borer (Chilo partellus) and to understand possible mechanism of synergism among Bacillus thuringiensis Cry1A toxins tested. Methods and Results: Three Cry1A toxins were over expressed in Escherichia coli strain JM105 and used for diet overlay insect bioassay against C. partellus neonate larvae, both alone and in combinations. Probit analysis revealed that the three Cry1A toxins tested have synergistic effect against C. partellus larvae. In vitro binding analysis of fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-labelled Cry1A toxins to midgut brush border membrane vesicle (BBMV) shows that increase in toxicity is directly correlated to an increase in binding of toxin mix. Conclusions: A high Cry1Ac to Cry1Ab ratio leads to an increase in efficacy of these toxins towards C. partellus larvae and this increase in toxicity comes from an increase in toxin binding. Significance and Impact of the Study: Use of Cry1Ab and Cry1Ac combination could be an effective approach to control C. partellus. Furthermore, we show it first time that possible reason behind increase in toxicity of synergistic Cry1A proteins is an increase in toxin binding.
    Keywords:
    Chilo
    Bacillus thuringiensis
    Cry1Ac
    Brush border
    Bacillus thuringiensis Cry1Ac toxin shares structurally five conserved blocs with the other δ-endotoxins. To study the role of some amino acids belonging to these regions, two mutations, Y229P and F603S, were introduced respectively in blocs 2 and 5. The stability and crystallization of the resulting mutant proteins Cry1Ac′1 and Cry1Ac′3 were affected. Both of them lost their toxicity to the Lepidopteran larvae Ephestia kuehniella. Unlike Cry1Ac′1, Cry1Ac′3 became very sensitive to proteases. Accordingly, the three-dimensional structures of the two mutants were studied. The obtained models showed that both of the residues, Y229, located near the bottom of the α7 helix, and F603, located in the core of domain III, are involved in hydrophobic interactions essential for protein stability and toxicity. These results reveal that conserved amino acids blocs of Cry toxins have conformational and functional roles.
    Cry1Ac
    Bacillus thuringiensis
    ABSTRACT Four subpopulations of a Plutella xylostella (L.) strain from Malaysia (F 4 to F 8 ) were selected with Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki HD-1, Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. aizawai , Cry1Ab, and Cry1Ac, respectively, while a fifth subpopulation was left as unselected (UNSEL-MEL). Bioassays at F 9 found that selection with Cry1Ac, Cry1Ab, B. thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki , and B. thuringiensis subsp. aizawai gave resistance ratios of >95, 10, 7, and 3, respectively, compared with UNSEL-MEL (>10,500, 500, >100, and 26, respectively, compared with a susceptible population, ROTH). Resistance to Cry1Ac, Cry1Ab, B. thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki , and B. thuringiensis subsp. aizawai in UNSEL-MEL declined significantly by F 9 . The Cry1Ac-selected population showed very little cross-resistance to Cry1Ab, B. thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki , and B. thuringiensis subsp. aizawai (5-, 1-, and 4-fold compared with UNSEL-MEL), whereas the Cry1Ab-, B. thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki -, and B. thuringiensis subsp. aizawai -selected populations showed high cross-resistance to Cry1Ac (60-, 100-, and 70-fold). The Cry1Ac-selected population was reselected (F 9 to F 13 ) to give a resistance ratio of >2,400 compared with UNSEL-MEL. Binding studies with 125 I-labeled Cry1Ab and Cry1Ac revealed complete lack of binding to brush border membrane vesicles prepared from Cry1Ac-selected larvae (F 15 ). Binding was also reduced, although less drastically, in the revertant population, which indicates that a modification in the common binding site of these two toxins was involved in the resistance mechanism in the original population. Reciprocal genetic crosses between Cry1Ac-reselected and ROTH insects indicated that resistance was autosomal and showed incomplete dominance. At the highest dose of Cry1Ac tested, resistance was recessive while at the lowest dose it was almost completely dominant. The F 2 progeny from a backcross of F 1 progeny with ROTH was tested with a concentration of Cry1Ac which would kill 100% of ROTH moths. Eight of the 12 families tested had 60 to 90% mortality, which indicated that more than one allele on separate loci was responsible for resistance to Cry1Ac.
    Cry1Ac
    Bacillus thuringiensis
    Resistant and susceptible populations of the diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella) were tested with crystalline, solubilized, and partially and fully activated forms of the Bacillus thuringiensis Cry1Ac delta-endotoxin. Fully activated toxin greatly reduced the resistance ratio (ratio of the 50% lethal concentration for the resistant population to that for the susceptible population) of the resistant population, suggesting that a defect in toxin activation is a major resistance mechanism.
    Bacillus thuringiensis
    Cry1Ac
    Strain (injury)
    ABSTRACT A laboratory strain (GY) of Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) was established from surviving larvae collected from transgenic cotton expressing a Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki insecticidal protein (Bt cotton) in Gaoyang County, Hebei Province, People's Republic of China, in 2001. The GYBT strain was derived from the GY strain through 28 generations of selection with activated Cry1Ac delivered by diet surface contamination. When resistance to Cry1Ac in the GYBT strain increased to 564-fold after selection, we detected high levels of cross-resistance to Cry1Aa (103-fold) and Cry1Ab (>46-fold) in the GYBT strain with reference to those in the GY strain. The GYBT strain had a low level of cross-resistance to B. thuringiensis var. kurstaki formulation (Btk) (5-fold) and no cross-resistance to Cry2Aa (1.4-fold). Genetic analysis showed that Cry1Ac resistance in the GYBT strain was controlled by one autosomal and incompletely recessive gene. The cross-resistance pattern and inheritance mode suggest that the Cry1Ac resistance in the GYBT strain of H. armigera belongs to “mode 1,” the most common type of lepidopteran resistance to B. thuringiensis toxins. A cadherin gene was cloned and sequenced from both the GY and GYBT strains. Disruption of the cadherin gene by a premature stop codon was associated with a high level of Cry1Ac resistance in H. armigera . Tight linkage between Cry1Ac resistance and the cadherin locus was observed in a backcross analysis. Together with previous evidence found with Heliothis virescens and Pectinophora gossypiella , our results confirmed that the cadherin gene is a preferred target for developing DNA-based monitoring of B. thuringiensis resistance in field populations of lepidopteran pests.
    Cry1Ac
    Bacillus thuringiensis
    Strain (injury)
    Heliothis virescens
    ABSTRACT It is generally accepted that Bacillus thuringiensis Cry toxins insert into the apical membrane of the larval midgut after binding to specific receptors, and there is evidence that the distribution of binding molecules along the midgut is not uniform. By use of the voltage-sensitive dye DiSC 3 (5) and 125 I-labeled Cry1Ac, we have measured the effect of Cry1Ac in terms of permeabilization capacity and of binding parameters on brush border membrane vesicles (BBMV) prepared from the anterior and the posterior regions of the larval midgut from two insect species, Manduca sexta and Helicoverpa armigera . The permeabilizing activity was significantly higher with BBMV from the posterior region than with the one observed in the anterior region in both insect species. Instead, 125 I-Cry1Ac bound specifically to BBMV from the two midgut regions, with no significant differences in the binding parameters between the anterior and posterior regions within an insect species. N -acetylgalactosamine inhibition patterns on pore formation and binding differed between anterior and posterior midgut regions and between species, providing evidence of a multifaceted involvement of the sugar in the Cry1Ac mode of action. The analysis of binding and pore formation in different midgut regions could be an effective method to study differences in the mode of action of Cry1Ac toxin in different species.
    Cry1Ac
    Bacillus thuringiensis
    Brush border
    Manduca
    Citations (33)
    Two populations of Trichoplusia ni that had developed resistance to Bacillus thuringiensis sprays (Bt sprays) in commercial greenhouse vegetable production were tested for resistance to Bt cotton (BollGard II) plants expressing pyramided Cry1Ac and Cry2Ab. The T. ni colonies resistant to Bacillus thuringiensis serovar kurstaki formulations were not only resistant to the Bt toxin Cry1Ac, as previously reported, but also had a high frequency of Cry2Ab-resistant alleles, exhibiting ca. 20% survival on BollGard II foliage. BollGard II-resistant T. ni strains were established by selection with BollGard II foliage to further remove Cry2Ab-sensitive alleles in the T. ni populations. The BollGard II-resistant strains showed incomplete resistance to BollGard II, with adjusted survival values of 0.50 to 0.78 after 7 days. The resistance to the dual-toxin cotton plants was conferred by two genetically independent resistance mechanisms: one to Cry1Ac and one to Cry2Ab. The 50% lethal concentration of Cry2Ab for the resistant strain was at least 1,467-fold that for the susceptible T. ni strain. The resistance to Cry2Ab in resistant T. ni was an autosomally inherited, incompletely recessive monogenic trait. Results from this study indicate that insect populations under selection by Bt sprays in agriculture can be resistant to multiple Bt toxins and may potentially confer resistance to multitoxin Bt crops.
    Bacillus thuringiensis
    Cry1Ac
    Cabbage looper
    Bt Cotton
    Biopesticide
    Citations (16)
    ABSTRACT Laboratory-selected Bacillus thuringiensis -resistant colonies are important tools for elucidating B. thuringiensis resistance mechanisms. However, cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa zea , a target pest of transgenic corn and cotton expressing B. thuringiensis Cry1Ac (Bt corn and cotton), has proven difficult to select for stable resistance. Two populations of H. zea (AR and MR), resistant to the B. thuringiensis protein found in all commercial Bt cotton varieties (Cry1Ac), were established by selection with Cry1Ac activated toxin (AR) or MVP II (MR). Cry1Ac toxin reflects the form ingested by H. zea when feeding on Bt cotton, whereas MVP II is a Cry1Ac formulation used for resistance selection and monitoring. The resistance ratio (RR) for AR exceeded 100-fold after 11 generations and has been maintained at this level for nine generations. This is the first report of stable Cry1Ac resistance in H. zea . MR crashed after 11 generations, reaching only an RR of 12. AR was only partially cross-resistant to MVP II, suggesting that MVP II does not have the same Cry1Ac selection pressure as Cry1Ac toxin against H. zea and that proteases may be involved with resistance. AR was highly cross-resistant to Cry1Ab toxin but only slightly cross-resistant to Cry1Ab expressing corn leaf powder. AR was not cross-resistant to Cry2Aa2, Cry2Ab2-expressing corn leaf powder, Vip3A, and cypermethrin. Toxin-binding assays showed no significant differences, indicating that resistance was not linked to a reduction in binding. These results aid in understanding why this pest has not evolved B. thuringiensis resistance, and highlight the need to choose carefully the form of B. thuringiensis protein used in experiments.
    Cry1Ac
    Bacillus thuringiensis
    Helicoverpa zea
    Pink bollworm
    Bollworm
    Citations (85)