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<i>Bacillus thuringiensis</i> Cry4Ba Insecticidal ToxinExploits Leu<sup>615</sup> in Its C-Terminal Domain to Interact with a Target Receptor—<i>Aedes aegypti</i> Membrane-Bound Alkaline Phosphatase
oleh: Anon Thammasittirong, Sutticha Na-Ranong Thammasittirong, Chompounoot Imtong, Sathapat Charoenjotivadhanakul, Somsri Sakdee, Hui-Chun Li, Siriporn Okonogi, Chanan Angsuthanasombat
Format: | Article |
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Diterbitkan: | MDPI AG 2021-08-01 |
Deskripsi
In addition to the receptor-binding domain (DII), the C-terminal domain (DIII) of three-domain Cry insecticidal δ-endotoxins from <i>Bacillus thuringiensis</i> has been implicated in target insect specificity, yet its precise mechanistic role remains unclear. Here, the 21 kDa high-purity isolated DIII fragment derived from the Cry4Ba mosquito-specific toxin was achieved via optimized preparative FPLC, allowing direct rendering analyses for binding characteristics toward its target receptor—<i>Aedes aegypti</i> membrane-bound alkaline phosphatase (Aa-mALP). Binding analysis via dotblotting revealed that the Cry4Ba-DIII truncate was capable of specific binding to nitrocellulose-bound Aa-mALP, with a binding signal comparable to its 65 kDa Cry4Ba-R203Q full-length toxin. Further determination of binding affinity via sandwich ELISA revealed that Cry4Ba-DIII exhibited a rather weak binding to Aa-mALP with a dissociation constant (<i>K</i><sub>d</sub>) of ≈1.1 × 10<sup>−7</sup> M as compared with the full-length toxin. Intermolecular docking between the Cry4Ba-R203Q active toxin and Aa-mALP suggested that four Cry4Ba-DIII residues, i.e., Glu<sup>522</sup>, Asn<sup>552</sup>, Asn<sup>576</sup>, and Leu<sup>615</sup>, are potentially involved in such toxin–receptor interactions. Ala substitutions of each residue (E522A, N552A, N576A and L615A) revealed that only the L615A mutant displayed a drastic decrease in biotoxicity against <i>A. aegypti</i> larvae. Additional binding analysis revealed that the L615A-impaired toxin also exhibited a reduction in binding capability to the surface-immobilized Aa-mALP receptor, while two bio-inactive DII-mutant toxins, Y332A and F364A, which almost entirely lost their biotoxicity, apparently retained a higher degree of binding activity. Altogether, our data disclose a functional importance of the C-terminal domain of Cry4Ba for serving as a potential receptor-binding moiety in which DIII-Leu<sup>615</sup> could conceivably be exploited for the binding to Aa-mALP, highlighting its contribution to toxin interactions with such a target receptor in mediating larval toxicity.