Plasmid DNA-mediated transformation of vegetative cells of Bacillus thuringiensis was studied with the following two plasmids: pBC16 coding for tetracycline resistance and pC194 expressing chloramphenicol resistance. A key step was the induction of competence by treatment of the bacteria with 50 mM Tris hydrochloride buffer (pH 8.9) containing 30% sucrose. Transformation frequency was strongly ...

Four subpopulations of a Plutella xylostella (L.) strain from Malaysia (F(4) to F(8)) were selected with Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki HD-1, Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. aizawai, Cry1Ab, and Cry1Ac, respectively, while a fifth subpopulation was left as unselected (UNSEL-MEL). Bioassays at F(9) found that selection with Cry1Ac, Cry1Ab, B. thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki, and B. thuringie...

A novel mosquitocidal bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. jegathesan, and one of its toxins, Cry11B, in a recombinant B. thuringiensis strain were evaluated for cross-resistance with strains of the mosquito Culex quinquefasciatus that are resistant to single and multiple toxins of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis. The levels of cross-resistance (resistance ratios [RR]) at concentr...

Bacillus thuringiensis is the most widely used biological pesticide in the world. It belongs to the Bacillus cereus sensu lato group, which contains six species. Among these six species, B. thuringiensis, B. anthracis, and B. cereus have a low genetic diversity. B. thuringiensis strain HD521 shows maroon colony which is different from most of the B. thuringiensis strains. Strain HD521 also disp...

Bacillus thuringiensis is a naturally abundant Gram-positive bacterium and a well-known, effective bio-insecticide. Recently, B. thuringiensis has attracted considerable attention as a potential biological control agent for the suppression of plant diseases. In this study, the bacterial wilt disease-suppressing activity of B. thuringiensis was examined in tomato plants. Treatment of tomato root...

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...

Studies were conducted on the enhancement of pathogenicity of Bacillus thuringiensis by gamma rays on various species of termites. The results showed that the 72 hrs old and 60 or 70 kr irradiated culture of B. thuringiensis were more pathogenic than the non-irradiated ones. 168 hrs old and 150 kr (1.5 kGy) irradiated B. thuringiensis caused quicker mortality rate than the non-irradiated one as...

in this research, 514 soil samples and dead larvae were collected from khorassan, lorestan, tehran, ghazvin, east azarbaijan, west azarbaijan, mazandaran and hamedan provinces. b. thuringiensis was isolated from the samples using a heat-acetate method and the isolates were identified and classified using biochemical tests. the frequency of b. thuringiensis in soils with different plant communit...

In this study, mutant forms of Bacillus thuringiensis spp. israelensis (H14) were produced. These mutants were identified when the cells were cultured on chloramphenicol plates and stained with crystal violet. Protoplasts of the mutants were isolated by enzymatic digestion (lysozyme) of the cell walls at the presence of an osmotic stabilizer. The protoplasts were induced to fuse to each other i...

The following stress factors were tested for their effect on the susceptibility of Plutella xylostella (L.) to Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner: (a) exposure to low doses of the synthetic pyrethroid cypermethrin, (b) treatment with low doses of the secondary plant compound, azadirachtin and (c) development on partially resistant cabbage cultivars. B. thuringiensis-related mortality of cypermethr...