The Role of Entomopathogenic Bacillus Thuringiensis: Is It Only Insect Pathogen?

Is the Insect World Overcoming the Efficacy of Bacillus thuringiensis?

The use of chemical pesticides revolutionized agriculture with the introduction of DDT (Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) as the first modern chemical insecticide. However, the effectiveness of DDT and other synthetic pesticides, together with their low cost and ease of use, have led to the generation of undesirable side effects, such as pollution of water and food sources, harm to non-target or...

Moderation of pathogen-induced mortality: the role of density in Bacillus thuringiensis virulence.

Virulence in pathogens may be increased or decreased in order to maximize reproduction and transmission. We investigated how reproduction and virulence in the entomopathogen Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) changed with bacterial density. We predicted that virulence would be moderated at high pathogen densities because extended time to death allows more growth in hosts. We found that pathogen reprod...

Continuous evolution of Bacillus thuringiensis toxins overcomes insect resistance

The expression of insecticidal proteins from B. thuringiensis (Bt toxins) in crops has proved to be a valuable strategy for agricultural pest management1. Bt-toxin-producing crops have been widely adopted in agriculture with substantial economic and environmental benefits2, and have increased global agricultural productivity by an estimated US$78 billion from 1996 to 2013 (ref. 3). Unfortunatel...

Response: Evolution of Insect Resistance to Bacillus thuringiensis--Transformed Plants.

A holistic approach for determining the entomopathogenic potential of Bacillus thuringiensis strains.

The cry gene content of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. aizawai HD-133 was analyzed by a combination of high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) and exclusive PCR. A total of six cry genes were detected in genomic DNA purified from HD-133, four from the cry1 family (cry1Aa, cry1Ab, cry1C, and cry1D) as well as a gene each from the cry2 (cry2B) and the cry1I families. To directly determine which...