Cry3Bb1

Delta endotoxins (δ-endotoxins) are pore-forming toxins produced by Bacillus thuringiensis species of bacteria. They are useful for their insecticidal action and are the primary toxin produced by Bt corn. During spore formation the bacteria produce crystals of such proteins (hence the name Cry toxins) that are also known as parasporal bodies, next to the endospores; as a result some members are known as a parasporin. The Cyt (cytolytic) toxin group is a group of delta-endotoxins different from the Cry group.When an insect ingests these proteins, they are activated by proteolytic cleavage. The N-terminus is cleaved in all of the proteins and a C-terminal extension is cleaved in some members. Once activated, the endotoxin binds to the gut epithelium and causes cell lysis by the formation of cation-selective channels, which leads to death.The activated region of the delta toxin is composed of three distinct structural domains: an N-terminal helical bundle domain (InterPro: IPR005639) involved in membrane insertion and pore formation; a beta-sheet central domain involved in receptor binding; and a C-terminal beta-sandwich domain (InterPro: IPR005638) that interacts with the N-terminal domain to form a channel.B. thuringiensis encodes many proteins of the delta endotoxin family (InterPro: IPR038979), with some strains encoding multiple types simutaneously. A gene mostly found on plasmids, delta-entotoxins sometimes show up in genomes of other species, albeit at a lower porportion than those found in B. Thuringiensis. The gene names looks like Cry3Bb, which in this case indicates a Cry toxin of superfamily 3 family B subfamily b.