A fat body-specific chitinase cDNA was cloned from the spider, Araneus ventricosus. The cDNA encoding A. ventricosus chitinase (AvChit1) is 1515 bp long with an open reading frame (ORF) of 431 amino acid residues. AvChit1 possesses the chitinase family 18 active site signature and one N-glycosylation site. The deduced amino acid sequence of AvChit1 cDNA showed 43% identity to both Glossina morsitans morsitans chitinase and a human chitotriosidase, and 30–40% to some insect chitinases which lack both the serine/threonine and chitin binding domains. Southern blot analysis of genomic DNA suggested the presence of AvChit1 gene as a single copy. Northern and Western blot analysis and enzyme activity assay showed the tissue-specific expression of AvChit1 in the A. ventricosus fat body. The AvChit1 cDNA was expressed as a 61 kDa polypeptide in baculovirus-infected insect Sf9 cells and the recombinant AvChit1 showed activity in the chitinase enzyme assay using 0.1% glycol chitin as a substrate. Treatment of recombinant virus-infected Sf9 cells with tunicamycin, a specific inhibitor of N-glycosylation, revealed that AvChit1 is N-glycosylated, but the carbohydrate moieties are not essential for chitinolytic activity. D 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

从韩国不同地区采集的620个土壤样品中分离出67株苏云金芽孢杆菌，分属于10种不同的血清型毒力测定结果表明，在67株分离株中，35.82%的菌株对鳞翅目昆虫具有生物活性，22.39%的菌株对双翅目昆虫有毒，32.84%的菌株对鳞翅目和双翅目昆虫都具有杀虫活性，8 95%的菌株为没有杀虫活性的无毒菌株其中对鳞翅目昆虫有毒的菌株产生典型的双金字塔形伴孢晶体，对双翅目昆虫有毒的菌株和无毒菌株都产生球形伴孢晶体，而对鳞翅目和双翅目都有毒的菌株产生双金字塔形或球形伴孢晶体用对。rryⅠ，cryⅡ，cryⅢ，cryⅣ和cry Vv基因特异性引物作PcR分析的结果表明，cry工C基因占优势，其次为cryh (b)和cryIh基因，但无cryIG，cwIII，crvⅣc和crvⅥ基因。