Identification and characterization of Aedes aegypti aminopeptidase N as a putative receptor of Bacillus thuringiensis Cry11A toxin.

Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis, which is used worldwide to control Aedes aegypti larvae, produces Cry11Aa and other toxins during sporulation. In this study, pull-down assays were performed using biotinylated Cry11Aa toxin and solubilized brush border membrane vesicles prepared from midguts of Aedes larvae. Three of the eluted proteins were identified as aminopeptidase N (APN), one of which was a 140 kDa protein, named AaeAPN1 (AAEL012778 in VectorBase). This protein localizes to the apical side of posterior midgut epithelial cells of larva. The full-length AaeAPN1 was cloned and expressed in Eschericia coli and in Sf21 cells. AaeAPN1 protein expressed in Sf21 cells was enzymatically active, had a GPI-anchor but did not bind Cry11Aa. A truncated AaeAPN1, however, binds Cry11Aa with high affinity, and also Cry11Ba but with lower affinity. BBMV but not Sf21 expressed AaeAPN1 can be detected by wheat germ agglutinin suggesting the native but Sf21 cell-expressed APN1 contains N-acetylglucosamine moieties.