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Pore formation by Cry toxins

  • Chapter
Book cover Proteins Membrane Binding and Pore Formation

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 677))

Abstract

B acillus thuringiensis (Bt) bacteria produce insecticidal Cry and Cyt proteins used in the biological control of different insect pests. In this review, we will focus on the 3d-Cry toxins that represent the biggest group of Cry proteins and also on Cyt toxins. The 3d-Cry toxins are pore-forming toxins that induce cell death by forming ionic pores into the membrane of the midgut epithelial cells in their target insect. The initial steps in the mode of action include ingestion of the protoxin, activation by midgut proteases to produce the toxin fragment and the interaction with the primary cadherin receptor. The interaction of the monomeric Cry1A toxin with the cadherin receptor promotes an extra proteolytic cleavage, where helix α-1 of domain I is eliminated and the toxin oligomerization is induced, forming a structure of 250 kDa. The oligomeric structure binds to a secondary receptor, aminopeptidase N or alkaline phosphatase. The secondary receptor drives the toxin into detergent resistant membrane microdomains forming pores that cause osmotic shock, burst of the midgut cells and insect death. Regarding to Cyt toxins, these proteins have a synergistic effect on the toxicity of some Cry toxins. Cyt proteins are also proteolytic activated in the midgut lumen of their target, they bind to some phospholipids present in the mosquito midgut cells. The proposed mechanism of synergism between Cry and Cyt toxins is that Cyt1Aa function as a receptor for Cry toxins. The Cyt1A inserts into midgut epithelium membrane and exposes protein regions that are recognized by Cry11Aa. It was demonstrated that this interaction facilitates the oligomerization of Cry11Aa and also its pore formation activity.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Biotecnologia UNAM. Departamento de Microbiología Molecular, Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico

    Mario Soberón, Liliana Pardo, Carlos Muñóz-Garay, Jorge Sánchez, Isabel Gómez, Helena Porta & Alejandra Bravo

Authors
  1. Mario Soberón
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  2. Liliana Pardo
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  3. Carlos Muñóz-Garay
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  4. Jorge Sánchez
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  5. Isabel Gómez
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  6. Helena Porta
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  7. Alejandra Bravo
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alejandra Bravo .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia

    Gregor Anderluh PhD

  2. Institute for Cell and Molecular Biosciences, The Medical School, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

    Jeremy Lakey PhD

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© 2010 Landes Bioscience and Springer Science+Business Media

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Soberón, M. et al. (2010). Pore formation by Cry toxins. In: Anderluh, G., Lakey, J. (eds) Proteins Membrane Binding and Pore Formation. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 677. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-6327-7_11

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