Positive selection analysis of Cyt proteins from Bacillus thuringiensis: A conservative trend driven by negative (purifying) selection.

Bacillus thuringiensis is a Gram-positive entomopathogenic bacterium that produces different pesticidal proteins: vegetative insecticidal proteins (Vpb1/Vpa2, Vip3, and Vpb4) during vegetative growth, which are secreted to the culture medium, and δ-endotoxins (Cry and Cyt) during sporulation, which accumulate into parasporal crystals. Cyt proteins are the smaller subset of δ-endotoxins targeting Diptera species. While Cry and Vip3 proteins undergo positive selection, our analysis suggests that Cyt proteins evolve following a conservative trend driven negative (purifying) selection.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Leopoldo Palma reports financial support was provided by University of Valencia. Leopoldo Palma reports a relationship with University of Valencia that includes: employment. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
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