The expression and crystallization of Cry65Aa require two C-termini, revealing a novel evolutionary strategy of Bacillus thuringiensis Cry proteins

The insecticidal crystal protein (Cry) genes of Bacillus thuringiensis are a key gene resource for generating transgenic crops with pest resistance. However, many cry genes cannot be expressed or form crystals in mother cells. Here, we report a novel Cry protein gene, cry65Aa1, which exists in an operon that contains a downstream gene encoding a hypothetical protein ORF2. We demonstrated that ORF2 is required for Cry65Aa1 expression and crystallization by function as a C-terminal crystallization domain. The orf2 sequence is also required for Cry65Aa expression, because orf2 transcripts have a stabilizing effect on cry65Aa1 transcripts. Furthermore, we found that the crystallization of Cry65Aa1 required the Cry65Aa1 C-terminus in addition to ORF2 or a typical Cry protein C-terminal region. Finally, we showed that Cry65Aa1 has a selective cytotoxic effect on MDA-MB231 cancer cells. This report is the first description of a 130-kDa mass range Cry protein requiring two C-termini for crystallization. Our findings reveal a novel evolutionary strategy of Cry proteins and provide an explanation for the existence of Cry protein genes that cannot form crystals in B. thuringiensis. This study also provides a potential framework for isolating novel cry genes from “no crystal” B. thuringiensis strains.