Expression of the mel gene from Pseudomonas maltophilia in Bacillus thuringiensis.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this work was to express a novel mel gene, responsible for melanin formation, in Bacillus thuringiensis.


RESULTS
A novel mel gene from Pseudomonas maltophilia was sub-cloned into B. thuringiensis using a shuttle vector plasmid and electroporation. Results revealed that the mel gene was expressed under the control of the CryIIIA promoter in B. thuringiensis and conferred u.v. protection on the recipient strain.


CONCLUSIONS
The novel mel gene from Ps. maltophilia expressed in B. thuringiensis conferred u.v. protection on the recipient strain.


CONCLUSIONS
Products containing B. thuringiensis for pest control are sensitive to u.v. degradation. As melanin has the ability to act as a u.v. absorber, a recombinant B. thuringiensis strain producing melanin provides a new stability for B. thuringiensis preparations.
Ruan
L
L
College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, China.
Huang
Y
Y
Zhang
G
G
Yu
D
D
Ping
S
S
D001413:Bacillus thuringiensis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000528:radiation effects; D000083722:Bacillus thuringiensis Toxins; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D004731:Endotoxins / Q000235:genetics; D015870:Gene Expression; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D006460:Hemolysin Proteins; D007980:Levodopa / Q000096:biosynthesis; D008543:Melanins / Q000032:analysis; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D014442:Monophenol Monooxygenase / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D011549:Pseudomonas / Q000235:genetics*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000378:metabolism
D000083722:Bacillus thuringiensis Toxins; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D004731:Endotoxins; D006460:Hemolysin Proteins; D008543:Melanins; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; C030956:insecticidal crystal protein, Bacillus Thuringiensis; D007980:Levodopa; D014442:Monophenol Monooxygenase