Anti-cancer Parasporin Toxins are Associated with Different Environments: Discovery of Two Novel Parasporin 5-like Genes

Cry toxins are primarily a family of insecticidal toxins produced by the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). However, some Cry toxins, called parasporins (PSs), are non-insecticidal and have been shown to differentially kill human cancer cells. Based on amino acid homology, there are currently si...

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Published in:	Current microbiology Vol. 72; no. 2; pp. 184 - 189
Main Authors:	Ammons, David R., Short, John D., Bailey, Jeffery, Hinojosa, Gabriela, Tavarez, Lourdes, Salazar, Martha, Rampersad, Joanne N.
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	New York Springer US 01-02-2016 Springer Nature B.V
Subjects:	Amino acids Animals Antineoplastic Agents - isolation & purification Antineoplastic Agents - metabolism Aquatic environment Bacillus thuringiensis Bacillus thuringiensis - genetics Bacillus thuringiensis - isolation & purification Bacillus thuringiensis - metabolism Bacteria Biomedical and Life Sciences Biotechnology Cancer Cattle Cytotoxicity Endotoxins - genetics Endotoxins - metabolism Genes, Bacterial Genomics Life Sciences Manure - microbiology Microbiology Rain Sequence Homology, Amino Acid Toxins Trinidad and Tobago Water Microbiology Caribbean Island Cell Death Assay Trinidad HepG2 Cell Amino Acid Homology
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Summary:	Cry toxins are primarily a family of insecticidal toxins produced by the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). However, some Cry toxins, called parasporins (PSs), are non-insecticidal and have been shown to differentially kill human cancer cells. Based on amino acid homology, there are currently six different classes of parasporins (PS1-6). It is not known what role parasporins play in nature, nor if certain PSs are associated with Bt found in particular environments. Herein, we present ten parasporin-containing isolates of Bt from the Caribbean island of Trinidad. Genes coding for PS1 and PS6 were found in isolates associated mainly with artificial aquatic environments (e.g., barrels with rain water), while Bt possessing two novel PS5-like genes ( ps5 - 1 and ps5 - 2 ), were isolated from manure collected directly from the rectum of cattle. The amino acid sequences inferred from the two PS5-like genes were 51 % homologous to each other, while being only 41 or 45 % similar to PS5Aa1/Cry64Aa, the only reported member of the parasporin five class. The low level of amino acid homology between the two PS5-like genes and PS5Aa1 indicate that the two PS5-like genes may represent a new class of parasporins, or greatly expand the level of diversity within the current parasporin 5 class.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	0343-8651 1432-0991
DOI:	10.1007/s00284-015-0934-3