The Cadherin Cry1Ac Binding-Region is Necessary for the Cooperative Effect with ABCC2 Transporter Enhancing Insecticidal Activity of Bacillus thuringiensis Cry1Ac Toxin

Bacillus thuringiensis Cry1Ac toxin binds to midgut proteins, as cadherin (CAD) and ABCC2 transporter, to form pores leading to larval death. In cell lines, co-expression of CAD and ABCC2 enhance Cry1Ac toxicity significantly, but the mechanism remains elusive. Here, we show that the expression of Helicoverpa armigera CAD (HaCAD-GFP) in Hi5 cells induces susceptibility to Cry1Ac and enhanced Cry1Ac toxicity when co-expressed with H. armigera ABCC2 (HaABCC2-GFP), since Cry1Ac toxicity increased 735-fold compared to Hi5 cells expressing HaCAD-GFP alone or 28-fold compared to HaABCC2-GFP alone. In contrast, the expression of the Spodoptera litura CAD (SlCAD-GFP) in Hi5 cells did not induce susceptibility to Cry1Ac nor it potentiated Cry1Ac toxicity with HaABCC2-GFP. To identify the CAD regions involved in the enhancement of Cry1Ac toxicity with ABCC2, the different CAD domains were replaced between SlCAD-GFP and HaCad-GFP proteins, and cytotoxicity assays were performed in Hi5 cells in the absence or presence of HaABCC2-GFP. The HaCAD toxin-binding region (TB), specifically the CAD repeat-11, was necessary to enhance Cry1Ac toxicity with ABCC2. We propose that CAD TB is involved in recruiting Cry1Ac to localize it in a good position for its interaction with the ABCC2, resulting in efficient toxin membrane insertion enhancing Cry1Ac toxicity.

The Spodoptera exigua ABCC2 Acts as a Cry1A Receptor Independently of its Nucleotide Binding Domain II

ABC proteins are primary-active transporters that require the binding and hydrolysis of ATP to transport substrates across the membrane. Since the first report of an ABCC2 transporter as receptor of Cry1A toxins, the number of ABC transporters known to be involved in the mode of action of Cry toxins has increased. In Spodoptera exigua, a mutation in the SeABCC2 gene is described as genetically linked to resistance to the Bt-product XentariTM. This mutation affects an intracellular domain involved in ATP binding, but not the extracellular loops. We analyzed whether this mutation affects the role of the SeABCC2 as a functional receptor to Cry1A toxins. The results show that Sf21 cells expressing the truncated form of the transporter were susceptible to Cry1A toxins. Moreover, specific Cry1Ac binding was observed in those cells expressing the truncated SeABCC2. Additionally, no differences in the irreversible Cry1Ac binding component (associated with the toxin insertion into the membrane) were observed when tested in Sf21 cells expressing either the full-length or the truncated form of the SeABCC2 transporter. Therefore, our results point out that the partial lack of the nucleotide binding domain II in the truncated transporter does not affect its functionality as a Cry1A receptor.