Insect paralysis by baculovirus-mediated expression of a mite neurotoxin gene

Female mites of the species Pyemotes tritici inject an extremely potent venom into their insect prey that causes muscle-contraction and paralysis. These mites are able to paralyse insects 150,000 times their sizes and their venom is effective in a broad range of insect species. A toxin (TxP-I) assoc...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature (London) 1991-07, Vol.352 (6330), p.82-85
Main Authors: Tomalski, M.D, Miller, L.K
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acari
Amino Acid Sequence
amino acid sequences
Animals
Baculoviridae
Baculoviridae - genetics
baculovirus
Base Sequence
Biological control
cell culture
Cloning
Deoxyribonucleic acid
DNA
Female
Gene Expression
Genetics
Insecta
Insecta - drug effects
Insects
Larvae
Mites
Mites - genetics
Molecular Sequence Data
Neurotoxins
Neurotoxins - genetics
Neurotoxins - toxicity
nucleotide sequences
Paralysis - etiology
Paralysis - veterinary
Pest Control, Biological
Pyemotes tritici
Pyemotidae
Ribonucleic acid
RNA
Spodoptera frugiperda
Toxins
Viruses
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Description
Summary:Female mites of the species Pyemotes tritici inject an extremely potent venom into their insect prey that causes muscle-contraction and paralysis. These mites are able to paralyse insects 150,000 times their sizes and their venom is effective in a broad range of insect species. A toxin (TxP-I) associated with the mite venom apparatus causes immediate muscle-contractive paralysis when injected into insects but not mice. In this report, we describe the cloning, sequencing and expression of a complementary DNA (Tox-34) encoding TxP-I. Insect cells infected with a recombinant baculovirus (vEV-Tox34) expressing Tox-34 secrete three polypeptides related to TxP-I which cause paralysis on injection. Larvae infected with vEV-Tox34 become paralysed during infection, thus reflecting the potential application of this toxin gene in insect biocontrol methods. The toxin gene expression system will also allow further exploration of the neurophysiological basis of its insect-specific effects.
ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
DOI:10.1038/352082a0