Melanin pigment formation and increased UV resistance in Bacillus thuringiensis following high temperature induction.
The pigment melanin is well known to protect against the damaging effects of UV radiation. In this study, we show that thirty-five of thirty-seven tested Bacillus thuringiensis strains possess the potential to produce melanin in the presence of L-tyrosin at elevated temperature (42 degrees C). These findings offer a method of protecting insecticidal toxins produced by B. thuringiensis from UV degredation and may therefore have important applications in the field of crop protection. Toxicity assays on Heliothis armigera suggested that the insecticidal activity of B. thuringiensis that produced melanin was significantly higher after UV irradiation than when melanin was not produced.
Ruan
Lifang
L
Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Ministry of Education, Wuhan, PR China.
Yu
Ziniu
Z
Fang
Bin
B
He
Wei
W
Wang
Yujie
Y
Shen
Ping
P
D000818:Animals; D001413:Bacillus thuringiensis / Q000502:physiology* / Q000528:radiation effects*; D000083722:Bacillus thuringiensis Toxins; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000528:radiation effects / Q000633:toxicity; D001427:Bacterial Toxins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000528:radiation effects / Q000633:toxicity; D004731:Endotoxins / Q000528:radiation effects / Q000633:toxicity; D006460:Hemolysin Proteins; D007980:Levodopa / Q000096:biosynthesis; D008543:Melanins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000502:physiology; D009036:Moths / Q000254:growth & development / Q000382:microbiology; D010572:Pest Control, Biological / Q000379:methods; D013696:Temperature; D014443:Tyrosine / Q000378:metabolism; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays
D000083722:Bacillus thuringiensis Toxins; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D004731:Endotoxins; D006460:Hemolysin Proteins; D008543:Melanins; C030956:insecticidal crystal protein, Bacillus Thuringiensis; D014443:Tyrosine; D007980:Levodopa