Sharma C B, Sahu R K
Mutat Res. 1977 Feb 1;46(1):19-26. doi: 10.1016/0165-1161(77)90107-8.
It reported for the first time that the exotoxin, thuringiensin A, from Bacillus thuringiensis, a component of the insecticide thuricide, inhibits spindle and cytokinesis and induces micronuclei, chromocentric nuclei and minor deviations in spindle activity. The binucleate cells also undergo mitosis yielding biprophases and bimetaphases. Spindle seems to have been inhibited even in bimetaphase. Microtubular systems and chromosomes are implicated as the primary targets. Most effects resemble those of caffeine, colchicine, aminopyrin, chloral hydrate and vinblastine to different extents, and are therefore suggestive of the anti-neoplastic and mutagenic potentialties of the exotoxin. The extensive use of thuricide on crop plants, in view of its mutagenic potential, may be hazardous. The results also suggest that the exotoxin may be used as a pre-treating agent in chromosome analysis and as a candidate-tagging tool for synchronization and cell cycle analysis, besides its probable utility in studies on cancer cells.
首次报道了来自苏云金芽孢杆菌的外毒素苏云金素A（杀虫剂苏力菌的一种成分）可抑制纺锤体和胞质分裂，并诱导微核、染色中心核以及纺锤体活性的微小偏差。双核细胞也会进行有丝分裂，产生双前期和双中期。即使在双中期，纺锤体似乎也受到了抑制。微管系统和染色体被认为是主要靶点。大多数效应在不同程度上类似于咖啡因、秋水仙碱、氨基比林、水合氯醛和长春碱的效应，因此表明该外毒素具有抗肿瘤和致突变潜力。鉴于其致突变潜力，在农作物上大量使用苏力菌可能具有危险性。结果还表明，除了在癌细胞研究中可能有用外，该外毒素还可用作染色体分析的预处理剂以及同步化和细胞周期分析的候选标记工具。
