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Updated: Apr 12, 2026

Crystal Structure of the N-terminal Domain of Ryanodine Receptor from Plutella xylostella
Published on: November 30, 2018
Crystal structure of Cry51Aa1: A potential novel insecticidal aerolysin-type β-pore-forming toxin from Bacillus
Chengchen Xu1, Unmesh Chinte2, Lirong Chen3
1State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei, 430070, PR China; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA.
Abstract:
The structures of several Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) insecticidal crystal proteins have been determined by crystallographic methods and a close relationship has been explicated between specific toxicities and conserved three-dimensional architectures. In this study, as a representative of the coleopteran- and hemipteran-specific Cry51A group, the complete structure of Cry51Aa1 protoxin has been determined by X-ray crystallography at 1.65 Å resolution. This is the first report of a coleopteran-active Bt insecticidal toxin with high structural similarity to the aerolysin-type β-pore forming toxins (β-PFTs). Moreover, study of featured residues and structural elements reveal their possible roles in receptor binding and pore formation events. This study provides new insights into the action of aerolysin-type β-PFTs from a structural perspective, and could be useful for the control of coleopteran and hemipteran insect pests in agricultures.
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