Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) has a significant impact on biological pest control because of the insecticidal activity through its parasporal inclusion bodies (crystal proteins). Fig is an economically important plant in Turkey; agricultural pests result in a considerable economic loss in fig quality and cultivation. The aim of this work was to isolate, characterize, and determine the lepidopteran toxicity of Bt obtained from fig groves in Aydın Province. A total of 606 colonies (out of 1167) obtained from 380 samples were identified as Bt based on parasporal crystal formation. The highest Bt index of 0.60 was observed in the Kuyucak region. A total of 288 Bt isolates were characterized in terms of cry gene content by PCR analysis. It was found that the cry1 plus cry2 genotype was the most abundant (40%) in our collection. Bioactivity tests indicated that 6 isolates exhibited high mortalities against Cadra cautella and 3 isolates were found to exhibit high toxicity against Carpophilus hemipterus. Moreover, 13 Bt isolates exhibiting toxic activity against fig pests were further characterized based on specific cry gene content, protein profiles, and PCR-RFLP analysis. Among cry1 genes, the cry1Aa, cry1Ab, cry1Ac, cry1B, cry1C, cry1D, and cry1Ea genes were the most frequent (100%). Protein profiles of isolates toxic to C. cautella were different from those of isolates toxic to C. hemipterus. PCR-RFLP analysis indicated that toxic isolates differed from the reference strain with respect to cry1 type gene. Finally, it was concluded that Bt strains isolated from fig groves showed high level of toxicity against fig pests. These strains can serve as potential biopesticides for the control of C. cautella in the region as well as alternative biopesticides in the case of pesticide resistance in insects.

Bitkilerden elde edilen doğal ürünler, kanser dahil çeşitli hastalıkların tedavisinde uzun yıllardır kullanılmaktadır. Centaurea solstitialis subsp. solstitialis'in Türk geleneksel tıbbında yeri olduğu bilinmektedir. Bu araştırma, Muğla ilinden toplanan C. solstitialis'in çiçekli kısımlarından elde edilen etanolik özütün in vitro biyolojik etkilerini belirleyen ilk çalışmadır. Gereç ve Yöntemler: Özütün Daudi, A549 ve HeLa kanser hücrelerine ve normal BEAS-2B hücre hattına karşı sitotoksik etkisi MTT (3-(4,5dimetiltiyazol-2-il)-2,5-dipeniltetrazolyum bromür) testi ile belirlendi. Apoptotik hücre ölümü akış sitometri analizi ve kaspaz-3 aktivite deneyleriyle araştırıldı. Özüt ile muamele edilen hücreler tarafından üretilen anjiyojenik faktör [vasküler endotel büyüme faktörü (VEGF)] salınımı ve sitokinlerden interlökin (IL)-lα, IL-6 ve tümör nekroz faktör (TNF)-α'nın salınımı enzim bağlı immünosorbent deneyi testleriyle ölçüldü. Bulgular: Bitki özütü kullanılan tüm kanser hücre hatlarına karşı sitotoksik etki gösterirken, özüte karşı en duyarlı hücrelerin 63.18 µg/mL and 69.27 µg/mL olan IC 50 değerleri ile sırasıyla HeLa ve Daudi hücreleri olduğu gözlendi. Seçici sitotoksisite HeLa ve normal BEAS-2B hücre hatları arasında tespit edildi. Bitki özütü S ve G2 fazlarında hücre döngüsü arrestine yol açtı. Buna ilave olarak, HeLa ve A549 hücrelerinde apoptotik hücre ölümü kaydedildi. Ayrıca bitki özütü A549 hücrelerinin VEGF salgılamasında anlamlı bir düşüşe yol açarken, A549 ile Daudi hücrelerinin IL-lα, IL-6 ve TNF-α salgılamasında önemli değişime neden oldu. Sonuç: Bu bulgular kanser tedavisi ve sitokin salgısının modülasyonunda gerekli olan doğal ilaçların geliştirilmesi için C. solstitialis'in çiçekli kısımlarının potansiyel bir kaynak olabileceğini göstermektedir. Anahtar kelimeler: Centaurea solstitialis, kanser hücre hatları, anti-kanser, anti-inflamatuar Objectives: Natural products originating from plants have been used for many years in the treatment of various diseases, including cancer. Centaurea solstitialis subsp. solstitialis is used in Turkish folk medicine. This study was the first to determine the in vitro biological effects of ethanolic extract from the flowering parts of C. solstitialis L. subsp. solstitialis collected from Muğla Province. Materials and Methods: The cytotoxic effect was evaluated against Daudi, A549, and HeLa cancer cells and one normal BEAS-2B cell line using the MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-dipenyltetrazolium bromide) assay. Flow cytometric analysis and the caspase-3 activity assay were performed to detect apoptotic cell death. Angiogenic factor [vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)] secretion and the release of interleukin (IL)-1α, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α by cells treated with the extract were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: The extract exhibited cytotoxic effects against all the cancer cell lines used but HeLa and Daudi were the most sensitive cells, with IC 50 values of 63.18 µg/mL and 69.27 µg/mL, respectively. Selective...

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It is known that some genera of the Asteraceae family are commonly used in Turkish folk medicine. Several studies have investigated the biological effects of different extracts of Centaurea and Urospermum species, but studies involving the phenolic composition of C. solstitialis and U. picroides extracts are very limited. This study aimed to investigate the phenolic composition and antioxidant activity of C. solstitialis and U. picroides and evaluate their possible cytotoxic effect. RP-HPLC analysis was used to elucidate the phenolic profiles of the ethanolic extracts of flowering parts of C. solstitialis and U. picroides.The both ethanolic extracts were assessed for their antioxidant properties using DPPH, FRAP, phosphomolybdenum and metal chelating assays. Furthermore, the effect of the extracts on cell viability was evaluated against MCF-7 and PC-3 cancer cells and HEK293 cell line using the MTT assay. The most abundant phenolic compound in both extracts was determined to be caffeic acid, and the amount of this compound was 24078.03 HIGHLIGHTS  The phenolic composition, antioxidant activity and cytotoxic potential of the extracts of C. solstitialis and U. picroides were investigated. Caffeic acid was found as the most abundant phenolic compound in the extracts. Both species showed promising antioxidant activity towards different assays. The highest cytotoxic potential was observed in the extract of C. solstitialis.

Bioactivities of cry gene positive Bacillus thuringiensis (Berliner) (Bacillales: Bacillaceae) strains on Ephestia kuehniella Zeller, 1879 and Plodia interpunctella (Hübner, 1813) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) 1,2 cry gene pozitif Bacillus thuringiensis (Berliner) (Bacillales: Bacillaceae) izolatlarının