Two sigma factors, sigma 35 and sigma 28, direct transcription from the Bt I and Bt II promoters of the cryIA(a) gene of Bacillus thuringiensis; this gene encodes a lepidopteran-specific crystal protoxin. These sigma factors were biochemically characterized in previous work (K. L. Brown and H. R. Whiteley, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 85:4166-4170, 1988; K. L. Brown and H. R. Whiteley, J. Bacteri...

Gram-negative bacteria can communicate with each other by N-acyl homoserine lactones (AHLs), which are quorum-sensing autoinducers. Recently, the aiiA gene (encoding an enzyme catalyzing the degradation of AHL) has been cloned from Bacillus sp. strain 240B1. During investigations in the course of the ongoing Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. morrisoni genome project, an aiiA homologue gene in the g...

The replication origins of three large Bacillus thuringiensis plasmids, derived from B. thuringiensis HD263 subsp. kurstaki, have been cloned in Escherichia coli and sequenced. The replication origins, designated ori 43, ori 44, and ori 60, were isolated from plasmids of 43, 44, and 60 MDa, respectively. Each cloned replication origin exhibits incompatibility with the resident B. thuringiensis ...

The use of Bacillus thuringiensis as a biopesticide is a viable alternative for insect control since the insecticidal Cry proteins produced by these bacteria are highly specific; harmless to humans, vertebrates, and plants; and completely biodegradable. In addition to Cry proteins, B. thuringiensis produces a number of extracellular compounds, including S-layer proteins (SLP), that contribute t...

The soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis is a pathogen of insects and nematodes and is very closely related to, if not the same species as, Bacillus cereus and Bacillus anthracis. The defining characteristic of B. thuringiensis that sets it apart from B. cereus and B. anthracis is the production of crystal (Cry) proteins, which are pore-forming toxins or pore-forming proteins (PFPs). Although ...

The entomopathogen Bacillus thuringiensis produces dense biofilms under various conditions. Here, we report that the transition phase regulators Spo0A, AbrB and SinR control biofilm formation and swimming motility in B. thuringiensis, just as they control biofilm formation and swarming motility in the closely related saprophyte species B. subtilis. However, microarray analysis indicated that in...

The nucleotide sequences of 3 homologous crystal protein genes (cry A1,A2,A3) from Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki and subsp. thuringiensis have been reported previously (1, 2, 3, respectively). We report the nucleotide sequence of an additional crystal protein gene {cry hi) from B. thuringiensis subsp. thuringiensis strain HD2 that differs markedly in the aminoterminal region from the 3...

Bacillus thuringiensis is an important source of insect resistance traits in commercial crops. In an effort to prolong B. thuringiensis trait durability, insect resistance management programs often include combinations of insecticidal proteins that are not cross resistant or have demonstrable differences in their site of action as a means to mitigate the development of resistant insect populati...

20 Bacillus thuringiensis is an entomopathogenic bacterium that has been used worldwide as an 21 efficient biopesticide. Despite that this bacterium is usually described as an insect pathogen, 22 its lifecycle in the environment is still largely unknown. B. thuringiensis belongs to the 23 Bacillus cereus group of bacteria, which has been associated with many mobile genetic 24 elements such as s...