Crystal structure of Cry51Aa1: A potential novel insecticidal aerolysin-type β-pore-forming toxin from Bacillus thuringiensis

Chengchen Xu; Unmesh Chinte; Lirong Chen; Qingqing Yao; Ying Meng; Dayong Zhou; Li-Jun Bi; John Rose; Michael J Adang; Bi-Cheng Wang; Ziniu Yu; Ming Sun

doi:10.1016/j.bbrc.2015.04.068

Crystal structure of Cry51Aa1: A potential novel insecticidal aerolysin-type β-pore-forming toxin from Bacillus thuringiensis

Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2015 Jul 3;462(3):184-9. doi: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2015.04.068. Epub 2015 May 7.

Authors

Chengchen Xu¹, Unmesh Chinte², Lirong Chen³, Qingqing Yao⁴, Ying Meng⁵, Dayong Zhou³, Li-Jun Bi⁶, John Rose², Michael J Adang⁷, Bi-Cheng Wang⁸, Ziniu Yu⁹, Ming Sun¹⁰

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei, 430070, PR China; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA.
² Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA; SER-CAT, University of Georgia and the Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL, 60439, USA.
³ Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA.
⁴ Department of Biochemistry, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438, PR China.
⁵ State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei, 430070, PR China.
⁶ National Laboratory of Biomacromolecules, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, PR China.
⁷ Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA; Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA.
⁸ Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA; SER-CAT, University of Georgia and the Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL, 60439, USA. Electronic address: wang@bcl1.bmb.uga.edu.
⁹ State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei, 430070, PR China. Electronic address: yz41@mail.hzau.edu.cn.
¹⁰ State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei, 430070, PR China. Electronic address: m98sun@mail.hzau.edu.cn.

PMID: 25957471
DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2015.04.068

Abstract

The structures of several Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) insecticidal crystal proteins have been determined by crystallographic methods and a close relationship has been explicated between specific toxicities and conserved three-dimensional architectures. In this study, as a representative of the coleopteran- and hemipteran-specific Cry51A group, the complete structure of Cry51Aa1 protoxin has been determined by X-ray crystallography at 1.65 Å resolution. This is the first report of a coleopteran-active Bt insecticidal toxin with high structural similarity to the aerolysin-type β-pore forming toxins (β-PFTs). Moreover, study of featured residues and structural elements reveal their possible roles in receptor binding and pore formation events. This study provides new insights into the action of aerolysin-type β-PFTs from a structural perspective, and could be useful for the control of coleopteran and hemipteran insect pests in agricultures.

Keywords: Bacillus thuringiensis; Crystal structure; Insecticidal; Pore-forming toxin.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Amino Acid Sequence
Animals
Bacillus thuringiensis / chemistry*
Bacillus thuringiensis / genetics
Bacillus thuringiensis Toxins
Bacterial Proteins / chemistry*
Bacterial Proteins / genetics
Bacterial Toxins / chemistry*
Bacterial Toxins / genetics
Coleoptera
Crystallography, X-Ray
Endotoxins / chemistry*
Endotoxins / genetics
Hemolysin Proteins / chemistry*
Hemolysin Proteins / genetics
Models, Molecular
Molecular Sequence Data
Pest Control, Biological
Pore Forming Cytotoxic Proteins / chemistry*
Pore Forming Cytotoxic Proteins / genetics
Protein Conformation
Protein Interaction Domains and Motifs
Protein Structure, Quaternary
Sequence Homology, Amino Acid

Substances

Bacillus thuringiensis Toxins
Bacterial Proteins
Bacterial Toxins
Endotoxins
Hemolysin Proteins
Pore Forming Cytotoxic Proteins
insecticidal crystal protein, Bacillus Thuringiensis
aerolysin