Immunologically unrelated Heliothis sp. and Spodoptera sp. midgut membrane-proteins bind Bacillus thuringiensis CryIA(b) delta-endotoxin.

The Bacillus thuringiensis toxins, CryIA(a), CryIA(b), CryIA(c) and CryIC were used in a ligand-blot assay to detect specific toxin-binding proteins in the brush-border membranes of Heliothis virescens, Helicoverpa zea, Spodoptera littoralis, Spodoptera exigua and Spodoptera litura. While CryIA(a) and CryIA(b) always recognize the same protein(s) in a given species, CryIA(c) and CryIC were found to bind to other proteins. Polyclonal antibodies directed against the CryIA(b) binding protein of H. virescens and polyclonal anti-idiotype antibodies recognizing some determinants of the CryIA(b)-binding protein involved in the interaction with the toxin, were used to analyse immunological relationships among the toxin-binding proteins. The results showed that the 170-kDa toxin-binding proteins from the H. virescens and H. zea are immunologically related. However, the toxin-binding proteins from the Spodoptera species did not cross-react with either type of antibodies. Therefore, we conclude that the CryIA(b) toxin has different binding determinants on the toxin molecules itself which can interact with specific binding sites on the toxin-binding proteins from Heliothis sp. and Spodoptera sp.