Article
Microbiology
Rosalina Garcia-Suarez, Luis A. Verduzco-Rosas, Jorge E. Ibarra
Summary: The recent discovery of endophytic strains of Bacillus thuringiensis has greatly enhanced understanding of its ecology and provided a potential new source of insecticidal strains. Two endophytic strains of B. thuringiensis isolated from lavender and Poinsettia sap exhibited high insecticidal activity, similar morphology, and increased toxicity compared to standard strains. Characterization of these strains indicated their relationship to existing standard serotypes and the potential of endophytic strains as a valuable resource for insecticidal applications.
FEMS MICROBIOLOGY ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Food Science & Technology
Liliana Lai, Maite Villanueva, Ane Muruzabal-Galarza, Ana Beatriz Fernandez, Argine Unzue, Alejandro Toledo-Arana, Primitivo Caballero, Carlos J. Caballero
Summary: Aedes albopictus, a mosquito species from Southeast Asia, has rapidly spread to temperate regions, making them vulnerable to diseases like dengue, yellow fever, zika, and chikungunya. The mosquito has developed resistance to commonly used insecticides, necessitating the search for new toxins to control their population.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Nancy Fayad, Zakaria Kambris, Laure El Chamy, Jacques Mahillon, Mireille Kallassy Awad
Summary: This study reported a novel mosquitocidal Bacillus thuringiensis strain H3 isolated from Lebanese soil, which contains unique Cry toxin genes and shows higher toxicity to Aedes albopictus and Anopheles gambiae compared to Culex pipiens. H3 harbors 11 novel Cry proteins and a toxin-carrying plasmid with mobile genetic elements. These findings suggest potential for H3 as a coformulant with existing B. thuringiensis products and highlight evolutionary traits of toxin-carrying plasmids in adaptation to different insect hosts.
APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Viswanathan Vinotha, Mariappan Yazhiniprabha, Jeyaraj Jeyavani, Baskaralingam Vaseeharan
Summary: The Btp-Ac-ZnO nanocomposites, synthesized using Bacillus cry toxic proteins and zinc oxide nanoparticles, effectively control pests and bacterial pathogens. The nanocomposites show concentration-dependent antioxidant activity and successfully prevent the formation of biofilms by pathogenic bacteria. They also exhibit superior larvicidal activity against mosquito vectors. Furthermore, the nanocomposites significantly reduce the activity of biological enzymes in treated larvae.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES
(2022)
Article
Entomology
S. Ongaratto, C. M. Silveira, M. C. Santos, J. E. R. Gorri, M. M. P. Sartori, Thomas E. Hunt, A. L. Lourencao, E. L. L. Baldin
Summary: Injury by herbivores is a major stress for soybean production, with Anticarsia gemmatalis causing significant economic damage. Chemical control and Bt transgenic soybean are common management strategies, but alternative methods such as host plant resistance are considered more efficient. Antixenosis and antibiosis were found in several soybean genotypes, providing potential resistance to A. gemmatalis.
JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Entomology
Sujit Kumar Das, Sukanta Kumar Pradhan, Kailash Chandra Samal, Nihar Ranjan Singh
Summary: The study analyzed 58 Cry proteins from three insect orders, revealing that structural and functional divergence of Bt may have occurred due to inner-molecular domain shift or domain insertion/deletion during the evolutionary process. The research findings contribute to understanding the diversity and specificity of insecticidal proteins, and their potential application as biopesticides in agriculture.
EGYPTIAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL PEST CONTROL
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Alexander Arsov, Maria Gerginova, Tsvetelina Paunova-Krasteva, Kaloyan Petrov, Penka Petrova
Summary: This study aimed to classify Bacillus thuringiensis strains for broad-spectrum pest control. Twenty strains were isolated from Bulgarian soil, with seven strains containing cry genes. Scanning electron microscopy revealed different crystal shapes produced by these strains. B. thuringiensis serovar galleriae BTG contained the most cry genes. Whole-genome sequencing and annotation of the BTG strain demonstrated its high potential for broad-spectrum insecticide development.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Entomology
Galen P. Dively, Tom P. Kuhar, Sally V. Taylor, Helene Doughty, Kristian Holmstrom, Daniel O. Gilrein, Brian A. Nault, Joseph Ingerson-Mahar, Anders Huseth, Dominic Reisig, Shelby Fleischer, David Owens, Kelley Tilmon, Francis Reay-Jones, Pat Porter, Jocelyn Smith, Julien Saguez, Jason Wells, Caitlin Congdon, Holly Byker, Bryan Jensen, Chris DiFonzo, William D. Hutchison, Eric Burkness, Robert Wright, Michael Crossley, Heather Darby, Tom Bilbo, Nicholas Seiter, Christian Krupke, Craig Abel, Brad S. Coates, Bradley McManus, Billy Fuller, Jeffrey Bradshaw, Julie A. Peterson, David Buntin, Silvana Paula-Moraes, Katelyn Kesheimer, Whitney Crow, Jeffrey Gore, Fangneng Huang, Dalton C. Ludwick, Amy Raudenbush, Sebastian Jimenez, Yves Carriere, Timothy Elkner, Kelly Hamby
Summary: Genetically modified corn and cotton in the United States are facing a major threat from resistance evolution in Helicoverpa zea populations. A study using Bt sweet corn as a sentinel plant revealed widespread resistance to certain toxins and an increase in ear damage and surviving larvae in the case of Vip3Aa. Better resistance management practices are urgently needed to sustain the efficacy of corn and cotton that produce Vip3Aa.
Review
Biology
Maria Cristina Gonzalez-Vazquez, Ruth Abril Vela-Sanchez, Norma Elena Rojas-Ruiz, Alejandro Carabarin-Lima
Summary: Bacillus thuringiensis bacteria produce Cry proteins that are highly toxic to insect larvae but harmless to humans and other mammals. Studies show that Cry proteins can enhance immunogenicity when administered with specific antigens, leading to increased protection against experimental infectious challenges in animal models. These findings suggest that Cry proteins have potential as adjuvants in vaccine development for both animals and humans, highlighting their role in modulating the immune response.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Theju Jacob, Theodore W. Kahn
Summary: Researchers propose a deep learning model to identify pore-forming proteins, which has the ability to discover novel pore-formers without sequence similarity.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Review
Microbiology
Hannah L. Best, Lainey J. Williamson, Emily A. Heath, Helen Waller-Evans, Emyr Lloyd-Evans, Colin Berry
Summary: This review focuses on the role of carbohydrate binding in the toxicity of the most utilized group of Bt pesticidal proteins-three domain Cry (3D-Cry) toxins. Bt proteins are an environmentally safe and effective alternative to chemical pesticides and have been used as biopesticides with great commercial success for over 50 years. The evolution of resistance to Bt pesticidal toxins threatens sustainable agriculture, and it is critical to understand the mechanisms behind receptor binding and toxicity in order to develop novel toxin variants and prevent future resistance evolution.
FEMS MICROBIOLOGY REVIEWS
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yongbo Yang, Xiaoying Huang, Wanli Yuan, Yang Xiang, Xueqin Guo, Wei Wei, Mario Soberon, Alejandra Bravo, Kaiyu Liu
Summary: The study found that Cry toxins induce autophagy only in susceptible cell lines, depending on AMPK and JNK pathways. Inhibiting autophagy delays cell death triggered by Cry toxins.
PESTICIDE BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Entomology
Alvaro Rodriguez-Gonzalez, Alejandra J. Porteous-Alvarez, Marcos Guerra, Oscar Gonzalez-Lopez, Pedro A. Casquero, Baltasar Escriche
Summary: Xylotrechus arvicola is a destructive pest in vineyards, and the susceptibility of its larvae to five toxic Cry proteins was evaluated. The Cry proteins were found to be effective in controlling the larvae and causing significant alterations in their development.
Review
Microbiology
Lu Liu, Zhou Li, Xing Luo, Xia Zhang, Shan-Ho Chou, Jieping Wang, Jin He
Summary: This article reviews the insecticidal mechanisms of Bacillus thuringiensis Cry toxins and the resistance mechanisms of insects against Cry toxins, proposing that new models are required to fully describe the complexity of the insecticidal process. Insects mainly employ gene mutations or trans-regulation to reduce effective binding of Cry toxins, with epigenetic mechanisms, host intestinal microbiota, and detoxification enzymes also playing significant roles in resistance. High-throughput sequencing technologies are powerful tools for studying these mechanisms and may facilitate the further development and utilization of Cry toxins.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Fabricio Oliveira Fernandes, Tamires Doroteo de Souza, Ariadne Costas Sanches, Nayma Pinto Dias, Janete Apparecida Desiderio, Ricardo Antonio Polanczyk
Summary: The study investigated the life table parameters of Anticarsia gemmatalis exposed to different concentrations of Bt-based bioinsecticide. Results indicated that higher sub-lethal concentrations had the most impact on larval and adult stages, while incubation period, pupal stage, and pre-pupal stage were unaffected. Additionally, changes in sex ratio were observed at certain concentrations.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Loeni L. Falcao, Joseilde O. Silva-Werneck, Alessandra de R. Ramos, Natalia F. Martins, Emmanuel Bresso, Magali A. Rodrigues, Marcelo P. Bemquerer, Lucilia H. Marcellino
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
L. L. Falcaeo, J. O. Silva-Werneck, B. R. Vilarinho, J. P. da Silva, A. W. V. Pomella, L. H. Marcellino
JOURNAL OF APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY
(2014)
Article
Forestry
Pierre Mournet, Paulo Sergio Bevilaqua de Albuquerque, Rafael Moyses Alves, Joseilde Oliveira Silva-Werneck, Ronan Rivallan, Lucilia Helena Marcellino, Didier Clement
TREE GENETICS & GENOMES
(2020)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Rose Gomes Monnerat, Andrea Cardoso Batista, Patricia Telles de Medeiros, Erica Soares Martins, Viviane M. Melatti, Lilian Botelho Praca, Vinicius Fiuza Dumas, Cristlane Morinaga, Caroline Demo, Ana Cristina Menezes Gomes, Rosana Falcao, Claudia Brod Siqueira, Joseilde Oliveira Silva-Werneek, Colin Berry
BIOLOGICAL CONTROL
(2007)
Article
Entomology
SMB da Silva, JO Silva-Werneck, R Falcao, AC Gomes, RR Fragoso, MT Quezado, OBO Neto, JB Aguiar, MFG de Sá, A Bravo, RG Monnerat
JOURNAL OF APPLIED ENTOMOLOGY
(2004)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Erica Soares Martins, Lilian Botelho Praca, Vinicius Fiuza Dumas, Joseilde O. Silva-Werneck, Eduardo Hideki Sone, Isabel C. Waga, Colin Berry, Rose Gomes Monnerat
BIOLOGICAL CONTROL
(2007)