Skip to main content
PMC home page
Applied and Environmental Microbiology logoLink to Applied and Environmental Microbiology
. 1987 Jul;53(7):1525–1530. doi: 10.1128/aem.53.7.1525-1530.1987

Transfer of chromosomal genes and plasmids in Bacillus thuringiensis.

A I Aronson 1, W Beckman 1
PMCID: PMC203904  PMID: 2821899

Abstract

A low frequency of chromosomal gene transfer from Bacillus thuringiensis to Bacillus cereus was detected by cell mating, with a tryptophan marker being the most frequently transferred gene among four that were tested. The process was resistant to DNase and was not mediated by cell filtrates. Among several B. thuringiensis subspecies tested, transfer was best with a derivative of B. thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki HD1, which lost several plasmids. All of the B. cereus recombinants contained at least one plasmid from the donor B. thuringiensis; frequently, it was a plasmid that encoded a protoxin gene. In matings with B. thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki HD1, a 29-megadalton plasmid that contained a ca. 2.5-kilobase region of homology with the chromosome was always transferred. No detectable transfer of chromosomal genes was found in B. thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki HD1 strains lacking this plasmid, suggesting that there may be chromosome mobilization.

Full text

PDF
1525

Images in this article

1528Image
on p.1528
1529Image
on p.1529

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Aronson A. I., Angelo N., Holt S. C. Regulation of extracellular protease production in Bacillus cereus T: characterization of mutants producing altered amounts of protease. J Bacteriol. 1971 Jun;106(3):1016–1025. doi: 10.1128/jb.106.3.1016-1025.1971. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Aronson A. I., Beckman W., Dunn P. Bacillus thuringiensis and related insect pathogens. Microbiol Rev. 1986 Mar;50(1):1–24. doi: 10.1128/mr.50.1.1-24.1986. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Barnes W. M., Bevan M., Son P. H. Kilo-sequencing: creation of an ordered nest of asymmetric deletions across a large target sequence carried on phage M13. Methods Enzymol. 1983;101:98–122. doi: 10.1016/0076-6879(83)01008-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Barsomian G. D., Robillard N. J., Thorne C. B. Chromosomal mapping of Bacillus thuringiensis by transduction. J Bacteriol. 1984 Mar;157(3):746–750. doi: 10.1128/jb.157.3.746-750.1984. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Battisti L., Green B. D., Thorne C. B. Mating system for transfer of plasmids among Bacillus anthracis, Bacillus cereus, and Bacillus thuringiensis. J Bacteriol. 1985 May;162(2):543–550. doi: 10.1128/jb.162.2.543-550.1985. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Bernhard K., Schrempf H., Goebel W. Bacteriocin and antibiotic resistance plasmids in Bacillus cereus and Bacillus subtilis. J Bacteriol. 1978 Feb;133(2):897–903. doi: 10.1128/jb.133.2.897-903.1978. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Debro L., Fitz-James P. C., Aronson A. Two different parasporal inclusions are produced by Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. finitimus. J Bacteriol. 1986 Jan;165(1):258–268. doi: 10.1128/jb.165.1.258-268.1986. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Eckhardt T. A rapid method for the identification of plasmid desoxyribonucleic acid in bacteria. Plasmid. 1978 Sep;1(4):584–588. doi: 10.1016/0147-619x(78)90016-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. González J. M., Jr, Brown B. J., Carlton B. C. Transfer of Bacillus thuringiensis plasmids coding for delta-endotoxin among strains of B. thuringiensis and B. cereus. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1982 Nov;79(22):6951–6955. doi: 10.1073/pnas.79.22.6951. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. González J. M., Jr, Dulmage H. T., Carlton B. C. Correlation between specific plasmids and delta-endotoxin production in Bacillus thuringiensis. Plasmid. 1981 May;5(3):352–365. doi: 10.1016/0147-619x(81)90010-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Held G. A., Bulla L. A., Jr, Ferrari E., Hoch J., Aronson A. I., Minnich S. A. Cloning and localization of the lepidopteran protoxin gene of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1982 Oct;79(19):6065–6069. doi: 10.1073/pnas.79.19.6065. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Ito J., Spizizen J. Increased rate of asporogenous mutations following treatment of Bacillus subtilis spores with ethyl methanesulfonate. Mutat Res. 1971 Sep;13(1):93–96. doi: 10.1016/0027-5107(71)90130-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Kronstad J. W., Schnepf H. E., Whiteley H. R. Diversity of locations for Bacillus thuringiensis crystal protein genes. J Bacteriol. 1983 Apr;154(1):419–428. doi: 10.1128/jb.154.1.419-428.1983. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Kronstad J. W., Whiteley H. R. Inverted repeat sequences flank a Bacillus thuringiensis crystal protein gene. J Bacteriol. 1984 Oct;160(1):95–102. doi: 10.1128/jb.160.1.95-102.1984. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Lecadet M. M., Blondel M. O., Ribier J. Generalized transduction in Bacillus thuringiensis var. berliner 1715 using bacteriophage CP-54Ber. J Gen Microbiol. 1980 Nov;121(1):203–212. doi: 10.1099/00221287-121-1-203. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Lereclus D., Ribier J., Klier A., Menou G., Lecadet M. M. A transposon-like structure related to the delta-endotoxin gene of Bacillus thuringiensis. EMBO J. 1984 Nov;3(11):2561–2567. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1984.tb02174.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Maxam A. M., Gilbert W. Sequencing end-labeled DNA with base-specific chemical cleavages. Methods Enzymol. 1980;65(1):499–560. doi: 10.1016/s0076-6879(80)65059-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Minnich S. A., Aronson A. I. Regulation of protoxin synthesis in Bacillus thuringiensis. J Bacteriol. 1984 May;158(2):447–454. doi: 10.1128/jb.158.2.447-454.1984. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Ostroff G. R., Pène J. J. Molecular cloning with bifunctional plasmid vectors in Bacillus subtilis. I. Construction and analysis of B. subtilis clone banks in Escherichia coli. Mol Gen Genet. 1984;193(2):299–305. doi: 10.1007/BF00330684. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Stahly D. P., Dingman D. W., Bulla L. A., Jr, Aronson A. I. Possible origin and function of the parasporal crystal in Bacillus thuringiensis. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1978 Oct 16;84(3):581–588. doi: 10.1016/0006-291x(78)90745-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Thorne C. B. Transduction in Bacillus thuringiensis. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1978 Jun;35(6):1109–1115. doi: 10.1128/aem.35.6.1109-1115.1978. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Towbin H., Staehelin T., Gordon J. Electrophoretic transfer of proteins from polyacrylamide gels to nitrocellulose sheets: procedure and some applications. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1979 Sep;76(9):4350–4354. doi: 10.1073/pnas.76.9.4350. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Trieu-Cuot P., Courvalin P. Nucleotide sequence of the Streptococcus faecalis plasmid gene encoding the 3'5"-aminoglycoside phosphotransferase type III. Gene. 1983 Sep;23(3):331–341. doi: 10.1016/0378-1119(83)90022-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Yamamoto T., McLaughlin R. E. Isolation of a protein from the parasporal crystal of Bacillus thuringiensis var. Kurstaki toxic to the mosquito larva, Aedes taeniorhynchus. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1981 Nov 30;103(2):414–421. doi: 10.1016/0006-291x(81)90468-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Applied and Environmental Microbiology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES