Bacillus thuringiensis: fermentation process and risk assessment: a short review

Abstract

Several factors make the local production of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) highly appropriate for pest control in developing nations. Bt can be cheaply produced on a wide variety of low cost, organic substrates. Local production results in considerable savings in hard currency which otherwise would be spent on importation of chemical and biological insecticides. The use of Bt in Brazil has been limited in comparison with chemical insecticides. Although Bt is imported, some Brazilian researchers have been working on its development and production. Fermentation processes (submerged and semi-solid) were applied, using by-products from agro-industries. As the semi-solid fermentation process demonstrated to be interesting for Bt endotoxins production, it could be adopted for small scale local production. Although promising results had been achieved, national products have not been registered due to the absence of a specific legislation for biological products. Effective actions are being developed in order to solve this gap. Regardless of the biocontrol agents being considered atoxic and harmless to the environment, information related to direct and indirect effects of microbials are still insufficient in many cases. The risk analysis of the use of microbial control agents is of upmost importance nowadays, and is also discussed.

Fermented Foods in Medicine: An Evaluation of Their Uses and Effects on the Human Gut Microbiota

“…Fermentation is the (generally) anaerobic conversion of organic compounds to more oxidized chemicals (e.g., acetic acid, ethanol, lactic acid, and many others) by bacteria or fungi, with the generation of a relatively small amount of energy. Besides its widespread uses in food production (e.g., alcohol used in beverages; cheese, kefir, kimchi) and agriculture (e.g., pesticides, such as the fermentation used in the production of Bacillus thurigiensis endotoxins for use as a biopesticide, Capalbo 1995), fermentation has a long history of uses in medicine (e.g., analgesics, or pain-relieving drugs, and disinfectants) (Rahman 2013, International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications 2006).…”

Solid-state fermentation of Bacillus thuringiensis tolworthi to control fall armyworm in maize

“…There are two main advantages in promoting development of local production facilities for microbial insecticides in developing countries: (1) stability: locally produced microbial insecticides avoid lengthy shipping periods and long storage at variable temperatures before the product reaches the consumer; (2) formulations: local production provides material for appropriate field studies and for formulations suitable for local environmental conditions (Moraes et al 1990;Moraes et al 1994;Capalbo, 1995;Arruda, 1999;Moraes, 1999;Rizzatto, 1999).…”

Μοριακες Μελετες Των Στελεχων Του Bacillus Thuringiensis Στον Ελλαδικο Χωρο

“…Κατά την ανάπτυξη του σε μεγάλη κλίμακα, οι συνθήκες ανάπτυξης, δηλαδή η θερμοκρασία, το pH, ο εξαερισμός και τα θρεπτικά μέσα θα πρέπει να είναι τέτοια ώστε να επιτευχθεί η μέγιστη ανάπτυξη τού στελέχους, ο μεγαλύτερος αριθμός κυττάρων και η μεγαλύτερη ταχύτητα σπορίωσης και ποσότητα σπορίων και κρυστάλλων. Πολλές χώρες συνδυάζουν τη μέγιστη παραγωγή του Β. thuringiensis με τη χρήση οικονομικών κι εύκολα ευρισκόμενων θρεπτικών μέσων, όπως απόβλητα της βιομηχανίας τροφίμων (Salama και Morris 1993, Capalbo 1995.…”