ssp genes and spore osmotolerance in Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis and Bacillus sphaericus.
It was shown previously that spores and vegetative cells of Bacillus sphaericus (Bf) and Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti) are very sensitive to osmotic variations. Since spore osmotolerance has been associated with their SASP (small acid soluble spore proteins) content coded by ssp genes, hybridization assays were performed with sspE and sspA genes from B. subtilis as probes and showed that Bti and Bf strains could lack an sspE-like gene. The B. subtilis sspE gene was then introduced into Bti 4Q2 strain; spores were obtained and showed a 65 to 650 times higher level of osmotolerance to NaCl, without affecting other important properties: hypoosmotic resistance in vegetative cells, spore UV resistance, and larvicidal activity against diptera larvae.
Cucchi
A
A
Departamento de Química Biológica, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Ciudad Universitaria Pabellón II 4 degrees Piso (1428), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Sanchez de Rivas
C
C
D000818:Animals; D001413:Bacillus thuringiensis / Q000235:genetics*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D004175:Diptera; D005798:Genes, Bacterial / Q000502:physiology*; D007814:Larva; D010572:Pest Control, Biological; D012808:Sigma Factor; D013045:Species Specificity; D013171:Spores, Bacterial / Q000502:physiology*; D014157:Transcription Factors; D014162:Transfection; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays; D014882:Water-Electrolyte Balance / Q000235:genetics*
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D012808:Sigma Factor; D014157:Transcription Factors; C092468:spoIIR protein, Bacillus subtilis; C030069:spore-specific proteins, Bacillus