Nucleotide sequence and analysis of an insertion sequence from Bacillus thuringiensis related to IS150

A 5.8-kb DNA fragment encoding the cryIC gene from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) subsp. aizawai HD229 was subcloned into the pMex7 vector for expression in Escherichia coli. In addition to the 135-kDa CryIC delta-endotoxin, this DNA fragment also encoded a 30-kDa polypeptide whose open reading frame (orfX) was located less than 200 bp upstream of cryIC. Nucleotide sequencing showed that orfX was truncated at the 5' end, and full sequence was obtained from a second overlapping clone. Sequence analysis showed that orfX could encode a polypeptide closely related to the putative transposase from IS150. OrfX was flanked by a 17-bp imperfect inverted repeat, defining the length of the element as 998 bp. Southern blot analysis revealed that the novel insertion sequence was present in a single copy and located in an identical position immediately upstream of cryIC in plasmid DNA from both Bt subsp. aizawai and entomocidus.