INSECTICIDAL PROTEIN TOXINS FROM PHOTORHABDUS

摘要

An isolated and substantially purified preparation of a DNA molecule encoding an effective amount of a protein produced by a bacterium of the genus Photorhabdus, which has functional activity against an insect, is new. Also new is a purified protein preparation, comprising a Photorhabdus protein with at least 1 subunit of molecular weight 18-230, 160-230, 100-160, 80-100 or 50-80 kD. Sequences are given in the specification. Also claimed are: (1) a composition comprising a protein toxin from Photorhabdus with functional activity against an insect; (2) a chimeric construct adapted for expression in a prokaryotic or eukaryotic host comprising, in 5'-3' order: a transcriptional promoter active in the host, a DNA sequence encoding the Photorhabdus protein functionally active against and insect and a transcriptional terminator; (3) a microorganism comprising ATCC 55397; (4) a transgenic plant comprising in its genome, a chimeric artificial gene construct allowing the plant to express the Photorhabdus protein with activity against an insect; and (5) a method of making an antibody against a fragment of a protein having functional activity, which is produced by bacteria of the Enterobacteraceae family, comprises immunising a mammal with a fragment of at least 6 amino acids and harvesting the serum containing the antibody.