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Korean Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (생화학분자생물학회)
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High Level of Soluble Expression in Escherichia coli and Characterisation of the Cloned Bacillus thuringiensis Cry4Ba Domain III Fragment

  • Chayaratanasin, Poramed (Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics and Structural Biochemistry, Institute of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Mahidol University) ;
  • Moonsom, Seangdeun (Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics and Structural Biochemistry, Institute of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Mahidol University) ;
  • Sakdee, Somsri (Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics and Structural Biochemistry, Institute of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Mahidol University) ;
  • Chaisri, Urai (Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University) ;
  • Katzenmeier, Gerd (Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics and Structural Biochemistry, Institute of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Mahidol University) ;
  • Angsuthanasombat, Chanan (Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics and Structural Biochemistry, Institute of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Mahidol University)
  • Published : 2007.01.31
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Abstract

Similar to the other known structures of Bacillus thuringiensis Cry $\delta$-endotoxins, the crystal structure of the 65-kDa activated Cry4Ba toxin comprises three domains which are, from the N- to C-terminus, a bundle of $\alpha$-helices, a three-$\beta$-sheet domain, and a $\beta$-sandwich. To investigate the properties of the C-terminal domain III in isolation from the rest of the toxin, the cloned Cry4Ba-domain III was over-expressed as a 21-kDa soluble protein in Escherichia coli, which cross-reacted with anti-Cry4Ba domain III monoclonal antibody. A highly-purified domain III was obtained in a monomeric form by ion-exchange and size-exclusion FPLC. Circular dichroism spectroscopy indicated that the isolated domain III fragment distinctly exists as a $\beta$-sheet structure, corresponding to the domain III structure embodied in the Cry4Ba crystal structure. In vitro binding analysis via immuno-histochemical assay revealed that the Cry4Ba-domain III protein was able to bind to the apical microvilli of the susceptible Stegomyia aegypti larval midguts, albeit at lower-binding activity when compared with the full-length active toxin. These results demonstrate for the first time that the C-terminal domain III of the Cry4Ba mosquito-larvicidal protein, which can be isolated as a native folded monomer, conceivably participates in toxin-receptor recognition.

Keywords

References

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