Complete sequence and organization of pFR260, the Bacillus thuringiensis INTA Fr7-4 plasmid harbouring insecticidal genes

LAURA E. NAVAS; ARIEL F. AMADIO; ELIO M. ORTIZ; DIEGO H. SAUKA; GRACIELA B. BENINTENDE; MARCELO F. BERRETTA; RUBÉN O. ZANDOMENI

JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR MICROBIOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY

KARGER

Lugar: Basel; Año: 2017 vol. 27 p. 43 - 54

1464-1801

We report the complete sequence and analysis of pFR260, a novel megaplasmid of 260,595 bp from Bacillus thuringiensis strain INTA Fr7-4 isolated in Argentina. It carries seven insecticidal genes: three cry8 copies previously reported, two vip1 and two vip2. Also, it carries a gene encoding a putative atypical Cry protein. These genes are arranged in a region of approximately 105-kbp in size with characteristics of a pathogenicity island with potential coleopteran-specific insecticide profile. DNA strand composition asymmetry, as determined by GC skew analysis, and the presence of a Rep protein involved in the initiation of the replication suggest a bi-directional theta mechanism of replication. In addition, many genes involved in conjugation and a CRISPR-Cas system were detected. pFR260 sequence was deposited in GenBank under accession number KX258624.