Toxin expression, confirmation

Recombinant Baculoviruses Expressing Insect Toxins. The first attempt to modify a NPV for increased insecticidal activity was conducted by Carbonell et al 33) in which an insect-specific toxin (BelT) from the scorpion Buthus eupus was incorporated into the AcNPV genome. Although low levels of toxin expression were confirmed, the recombinant NPV did not result in quicker killing rates of host insects. Failure to improve killing activity may be due to an insufficient level of toxin expression by AcNPV, an incorrect sequence of toxin DNA, and/or insufficient or incorrect folding of the toxin following expression. 

A novel concept for toxin detection is presented based on toxin s inhibition of biological protein synthesis. We demonstrated the feasibility of the concept by confirming differential inhibitory effects of two toxin simulants on the expression yields of three proteins. The unique response pattern is obtained from the 3 X 4 IVT sensor array for each toxin simulant. 

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