Abstract
FEMALE mites of the species Pyemotes tritici inject an extremely potent venom into their insect prey that causes muscle-contraction and paralysis1–4. These mites are able to paralyse insects 150,000 times their size5 and their venom is effective in a broad range of insect species4. A toxin (TxP-I) associated with the mite venom apparatus causes immediate muscle-contractive paralysis when injected into insects but not mice6. In this report, we describe the cloning, sequencing and expression of a complementary DNA (Tox-34) encoding TxP-I. Insect cells infected with a recombinant baculovirus (vEV–Tox34) expressing Tox-34 secrete three polypep-tides related to TxP-I which cause paralysis on injection. Larvae infected with vEV–Tox34 become paralysed during infection, thus reflecting the potential application of this toxin gene in insect biocontrol methods. The toxin gene expression system will also allow further exploration of the neurophysiological basis of its insect-specific effects.
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Tomalski, M., Miller, L. Insect paralysis by baculovirus-mediated expression of a mite neurotoxin gene. Nature 352, 82–85 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1038/352082a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/352082a0
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