1. This proposal will focus on the correlation between the toxicity against mosquito larvae and its membrane-associated structure of the Cry4Ba toxin by using of atomic force microscopy acquired on its two-dimensional crystals. Structures will also be compared with the inactive mutants of the Cry4B mosquito-larvicidal protein.
2. Assays of toxin binding and insertion into artificial membranes will be employed for investigating membrane permeability and protease resistance in order to prove the molecular basis of the formation of the membrane-disruptive pore.
