A total of 119 Bacillus thuringiensis strains (83 type strains and 26 native isolates), as well as five B. cereus group species, were analyzed by repetitive extragenic palindromic sequence-based PCR analysis (Rep-PCR) fingerprinting. Primers Bc-REP-1 and Bc-REP-2 were specifically designed according to an extragenic 26-bp repeated sequence found in the six B. cereus group genomes reported. A to...

Bacillus thuringiensis serovar israelensis is well known for its mosquitocidal activity and has long been used as a biopesticide. Herein, we present the genome sequence of B. thuringiensis serovar israelensis strain 4Q7, a plasmid-cured derivative with higher transformation efficiency than wild types.

BigBertha is a myophage of Bacillus thuringiensis, a widely used biocontrol agent that is active against many insect pests of plants. Here, we present the complete annotated genome of BigBertha. The genome shares 85.9% sequence identity with Bacillus cereus phage B4.

The genome sequence of the entomopathogen Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. thuringiensis strain IS5056 was determined. The chromosome is composed of 5,491,935 bp. In addition, IS5056 harbors 14 plasmids ranging from 6,880 to 328,151 bp, four of which contain nine insecticidal protein genes, cry1Aa3, cry1Ab21, cry1Ba1, cry1Ia14, cry2Aa9, cry2Ab1, vip1, vip2, and vip3Aa10.

The Bacillus thuringiensis CryIIIA insecticidal crystal protein (ICP) is a vegetatively expressed protein that is toxic to coleopteran insect larvae. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis of the asporogenous B. thuringiensis subsp. morrisoni strain EG1351, which harbors the native cryIIIA-encoding 88-MDa plasmid, showed a 2.5-fold overproduction of the CryIIIA prote...

The CryIVD protein is involved in the overall toxicity of the Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis parasporal inclusions and is one of the four major components of the crystals. Determination of the DNA sequence indicated that the cryIVD gene is the second gene of an operon which includes three genes. The first one encodes a 19-kDa polypeptide and has sequence homology with the orf1 gene o...

Internally Transcribed Spacers (ITS) characterization and distribution of Repetitive Extragenic Palindromic (REP) sequences were studied in the genome of 223 field isolates of Bacillus thuringiensis from Madurai, India. They were characterized by morphological, biochemical and molecular methods. One hundred and twenty four of a total 223 isolates fitted ITS characterization of B. thuringiensis ...

We present a case of severe war wounds infected by Bacillus thuringiensis serotype H34 and describe the experimental protocol used to demonstrate its ability to infect mice after cutaneous inoculation. This case is interesting because B. thuringiensis is considered to be a contaminant in laboratories and receives inadequate attention.

Mutants of Bacillus thuringiensis lacking either beta-exotoxin or gamma-endotoxin were compared for their virulence using pupae of a giant silk moth. Known doses of viable log-phase bacteria were injected, and the response was followed as the number of viable bacteria in the hemolymph. The results obtained imply that, in the system used, neither the beta-exotoxin nor the gamma-endotoxin and the...