Frontiers in Biology >

2007 , Vol. 2 >Issue 1: 26 - 29

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11515-007-0004-8

Characterization of melanin produced by a wild-type strain of Bacillus cereus

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  • Department of Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Nankai University, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Microbial Functional Genomics, Tianjin 300071, China

Published date: 05 Mar 2007

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Abstract

Bacillus cereus 58 (Bc58) is a UV-resistant wild type strain that has an ability to produce a sorrel pigment induced by L-tyrosine. The Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra and chemical tests of its pigment are similar to that of the standard melanin (Sigma). A bioassay shows that the LC50 of a Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) formulation added with the melanin of Bc58 and exposed to UV for 5 h is 16.1 µg/m1, which is similar to that of the Bt formulation without UV treatment, however, it is almost double that of the Bt formulation exposed to UV without the melanin of Bc58. The result of SDS-PAGE indicates that the melanin of Bc58 can protect the insecticidal crystal proteins from degradation. This suggests that it is an excellent UV protective agent for the insecticidal crystal proteins of the Bt formulation.

Cite this article

ZHANG Jianping, CAI Jun, DENG Yinyue, CHEN Yuehua, REN Gaixin . Characterization of melanin produced by a wild-type strain of Bacillus cereus[J]. Frontiers in Biology, 2007 , 2(1) : 26 -29 . DOI: 10.1007/s11515-007-0004-8

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