Characterization of a novel Bacillus thuringiensis toxin active against Aedes aegypti larvae

Jiangyu Wu; Li Wei; Jiali He; Kang Fu; Xinxin Li; Luyu Jia; Ruiping Wang; Wenfei Zhang

doi:10.1016/j.actatropica.2021.106088

Characterization of a novel Bacillus thuringiensis toxin active against Aedes aegypti larvae

Acta Trop. 2021 Nov:223:106088. doi: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2021.106088. Epub 2021 Aug 11.

Authors

Jiangyu Wu¹, Li Wei², Jiali He³, Kang Fu⁴, Xinxin Li⁵, Luyu Jia⁶, Ruiping Wang⁷, Wenfei Zhang⁸

Affiliations

¹ Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, Key Laboratory of Tropical Animal and Plant Ecology of Hainan Province, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou 571158, Hainan, China. Electronic address: 2018207100004@hainnu.edu.cn.
² Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, Key Laboratory of Tropical Animal and Plant Ecology of Hainan Province, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou 571158, Hainan, China. Electronic address: weili@hainnu.edu.cn.
³ Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, Key Laboratory of Tropical Animal and Plant Ecology of Hainan Province, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou 571158, Hainan, China. Electronic address: 1319193365@qq.com.
⁴ Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, Key Laboratory of Tropical Animal and Plant Ecology of Hainan Province, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou 571158, Hainan, China. Electronic address: 2019207130008@hainnu.edu.cn.
⁵ Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, Key Laboratory of Tropical Animal and Plant Ecology of Hainan Province, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou 571158, Hainan, China. Electronic address: 20202071300166@hainnu.edu.cn.
⁶ Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, Key Laboratory of Tropical Animal and Plant Ecology of Hainan Province, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou 571158, Hainan, China. Electronic address: 798897990@qq.com.
⁷ Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, Key Laboratory of Tropical Animal and Plant Ecology of Hainan Province, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou 571158, Hainan, China. Electronic address: wrp@hainnu.edu.cn.
⁸ Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, Key Laboratory of Tropical Animal and Plant Ecology of Hainan Province, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou 571158, Hainan, China. Electronic address: wfzhang@hainnu.edu.cn.

PMID: 34389325
DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2021.106088

Abstract

Some Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) strains produce dipteran-active toxins and can control larval mosquitoes. We identified a novel mosquitocidal toxin named Xpp81Aa1 with the thioredoxin domain from Bt strain HSY204. This toxin has very little sequence similarity to the three-domain Cry toxin and Cyt toxins and has significant toxicity to Aedes aegypti larvae. A safety assessment indicated that the Xpp81Aa1 toxin has no cytocidal activity against red blood cells and did not induce allergic reactions. The Xpp81Aa1 toxin exhibited a synergistic effect in combination with Cry2Aa and Cry4Aa protein toxins. Thus, the Xpp81Aa1 toxin could be a good candidate for mosquito control applications to reduce the mosquito-borne disease.

Keywords: Aedes aegypti; Bacillus thuringiensis; Mosquito control; Thioredoxin.

MeSH terms

Aedes*
Animals
Bacillus thuringiensis
Bacillus thuringiensis Toxins* / genetics
Bacterial Proteins / genetics
Larva
Mosquito Control*

Substances

Bacillus thuringiensis Toxins
Bacterial Proteins