DISCOVERY AND EXPRESSION OF INSECTICIDAL PROTEINS VIA GENOME MINING OF NOVEL BACILLUS THURINGIENSIS STRAIN 1FO

Fazliddin Bozorovich Kobilov^1,2*Pengwei Li³Muhammad-Latif M. Ma'ruf o'g'li Nazirov²Meng Chen³Shakhlo Miralimova²Iskandar Yakubov⁴Akmal Asrorov⁵Khonsuluv Sohibnazarova⁶Nodira Azimova²Ilhom Khalilov²Ulugbek Yusupov²Yihua Chen³Yue Tang²Zebinisa Mirakbarova^7*

• ¹Microbiology institute, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
• ²Institute of Microbiology of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
• ³Institute of Microbiology Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
• ⁴National University of Uzbekistan named after Mirzo Ulugbek, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
• ⁵Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
• ⁶Center for Advanced Technologies, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
• ⁷Institute of Biophysics and Biochemistry under the National University of Uzbekistan, Tashkent, Uzbekistan

The identification of environmentally friendly pesticides and insecticidal agents is crucial for developing sustainable agricultural practices. Bacillus thuringiensis exemplifies such a microbial agent, effectively controlling pests across a wide range of agronomic crops. In this study, we characterized the native strain Bt1Fo, which exhibits potent activity against major crop pests in the Lepidoptera order. All six types and truncated forms of the Cry1Aa and Cry1Ac insecticide proteins were expressed in E. coli, and recombinant proteins demonstrated strong activity against Helicoverpa armigera, with full-length Cry1Aa/1Ac and Vip3Aa being the most potent. Importantly, Cry1Ia exhibited high toxicity against H. armigera, representing its first documented efficacy against this major pest. These findings support Bt1Fo as a genetically stable source of multi-toxin biopesticides and provide a new opportunity for resistance management and further elucidation of the molecular interactions between insect midgut receptors and downstream signaling components.