Discovery of crystalline inclusions in Bacillus licheniformis that resemble parasporal crystals of Bacillus thuringiensis.
Crystalline inclusions were discovered in stationary and sporulating cells of the spore-forming bacterium Bacillus licheniformis ATCC 9945a. As detected by electron microscopy, dying or sporulating bacterial cells contain a single crystal of strikingly large size. The crystals in sporulating cells are located next to nascent spores and can be several times larger than the spores. Morphologically, most crystals are rhomboid with uniformly spaced grids. These newly discovered crystalline inclusions of B. licheniformis closely resemble parasporal crystals of Bacillus thuringiensis that are formed by insecticidal toxin proteins and used widely as biopesticides. The taxonomic identity of this strain was verified by its 16S rRNA gene sequence and its fatty acid profile. The finding of crystal proteins in B. licheniformis may lead to the discovery of new protein toxins and may expand our pool of biopesticides.
Yan
Ming
M
Channing Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 181 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Roehrl
Michael H
MH
Wang
Julia Y
JY
D001407:Bacillus / Q000737:chemistry / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D000083722:Bacillus thuringiensis Toxins; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D001427:Bacterial Toxins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D001483:Base Sequence; D003460:Crystallization; D004731:Endotoxins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000032:analysis; D006460:Hemolysin Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D002479:Inclusion Bodies / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013171:Spores, Bacterial / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure
D000083722:Bacillus thuringiensis Toxins; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D004731:Endotoxins; D005227:Fatty Acids; D006460:Hemolysin Proteins; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; C030956:insecticidal crystal protein, Bacillus Thuringiensis