Bacillus cereusisolated from the larvae of Myrmeleon bore was found to secrete proteins that paralyze and kill German cockroaches, Blattela germanica, when injected. One of these active proteins was purified from the culture broth anion-exchange and gel-filtration chro-matography. The purified toxin, with a molecular mass of 34 kDa, was identified as sphingomyelinase C () on the basis of its N-terminal and internal amino-acid sequences. A recombinant sphingomyelinase C expressed in Escherichia coliwas as potent as the native protein in killing the cockroaches
