Y Nagamatsu, S Toda, F Yamaguchi, M Ogo, M Kogure, M Nakamura, Y Shibata, T Katsumoto
As part of a study of the mechanism by which Bacillus thuringiensis insecticidal crystal protein acts, a Bombyx mori receptor to the CryIA(a) toxin specific for lepidopterans was examined. Histological examination showed that the toxin acted on the brush-border membrane of the midgut columnar cells and broke its infolding structure, causing cell lysis. The membrane vesicles were purified, and a 175-kDa protein binding the toxin was found that accounted for some 0.015% of membrane proteins. The protein, designated BtR175, was a glycoprotein that reacted with concanavalin A...
April 1998: Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry