DNA secondary structure formation by DNA shuffling of the conserved domains of the Cry protein of .

Background: The Cry toxins, or δ-endotoxins, are a diverse group of proteins produced by . While DNA secondary structures are biologically relevant, it is unknown if such structures are formed in regions encoding conserved domains of Cry toxins under shuffling conditions. We analyzed 5 holotypes that encode Cry toxins and that grouped into 4 clusters according to their phylogenetic closeness.