Truncated Cry35 proteins

Improved Efficacy of Truncated Cry35Ab1

[0066]The native intact Cry35Ab1 protein from B.t. PS149B1 is approximately 44 kDa. This 44-kDa protein (intact or full-length form), when expressed in the bacteria and transgenic plants, is susceptible to cleavage by proteases producing a stable truncated form. The truncated Cry35Ab1 has a molecular weight of 40.3-kDa determined by matrix-assisted laser desorption / ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). It was determined that both the intact and truncated forms possess the same N-terminal sequence, indicating that the truncation occurred at the C-terminal domain. The results of the molecular mass determined by MALDI-TOF MS, together with data of N-terminal sequencing, suggest that the 40.3-kDa truncated Cry35Ab1 protein contains amino acids residues of 1-354 of the intact Cry35Ab1, i.e., the cleavage site is between amino acid residue #354 and #355 (L353L354↓L355L356) (SEQ ID NO:5). This cleavage site was further confirmed b