Baculovirus Expression and Functional Analysis of Vpa2 Proteins from Bacillus thuringiensis.

ABSTRACT: The mode of action underlying the insecticidal activity of the Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) binary pesticidal protein Vpb/Vpa (formerly Vip1/Vip2) is uncertain. In this study, three recombinant baculoviruses were constructed using Bac-to-Bac technology to express Vpa2Ac1 and two novel Vpa2-like genes, Vpa2-like1 and Vpa2-like2, under the baculovirus p10 promoter in transfected Sf9 cells. Pairwise amino acid analyses revealed a higher percentage of identity and a lower number of gaps between Vpa2Ac1 and Vpa2-like2 than to Vpa2-like1. Moreover, Vpa2-like1 lacked the conserved Ser-Thr-Ser motif, involved in NAD binding, and the (F/Y)xx(Q/E)xE consensus sequence, characteristic of the ARTT toxin family involved in actin polymerization. Vpa2Ac1, Vpa2-like1 and Vpa2-like2 transcripts and p

SUBMITTER: Simon O 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7551607 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature