Novel Vip3A proteins from Bacillus thuringiensis: toxicity and mode of action to insects of Lepidoptera ordem

• Grant number: 12/05340-1
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: June 01, 2012
• End date: May 31, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Plant Health
• Principal Investigator: Janete Apparecida Desidério
• Grantee: Janete Apparecida Desidério
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias (FCAV). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Jaboticabal. Jaboticabal , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The increasing pests cause concern since they impact production, and when uncontrolled, they lead to huge economic losses. Among major pests Anticarsia gemmatalis (Hübner, 1818), Spodoptera frugiperda (JE Smith), Helicoverpa zea (Boddie) and Heliothis virescens (Fabricius) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) are considered important because they attack crops like corn, cotton, tomato and soybean. Among the various systems used for biological pest control, the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis stands out. This bacterium is characterized by the production of toxic proteins of several insect orders. These proteins are highly specific and this make them useful for biological control, however, this specificity allow the emergence of resistant organisms. In this sense, studies involving different insecticidal proteins from B. thuringiensis and their interactions with Brush Border Membrane Vesicles of target insects become of great importance because evaluate strategies that will delay or even avoiding the evolution of pests resistance to these proteins. In this sense, this project aims to sequence the gene vip3Aa_ obtained from isolate I131 from B. thuringiensis in order to characterize it completely (FAPESP Proc: 2011/05328-9) and check the toxicity and mode of action of novel proteins Vip3Aa_ (Isolated I131), Vip3Aa42, Vip3Aa43 Vip3Ag5 expressed in E. coli (FAPESP Proc: 2011/07339-8) emphasizing the specificity of the interaction of these with the receptors present in the Brush Border Membrane Vesicles of various lepidopteran and suggesting a possible combination of these new toxins with the Cry1Ia10 toxin. (AU)