Occurrence of Bacillus thuringiensis in Canopies of a Natural Lucidophyllous Forest in Japan

Abstract

A total of 39 Bacillus thuringiensis isolates were recovered from 38 leaves collected from 5- to 10-m-high canopies of 8 micro-/meso-phanerophyte species in a lucidophyllous forest of Japan. B. thuringiensis-positive leaves accounted for 1.4% of a total of 2805 leaves from 15 tree species. The frequency of the organism was 0.8% among the Bacillus cereus/B. thuringiensis group. Of 39 isolates obtained, 27 (69.2%) were allocated to 11 H serovars, and 12 isolates remained unidentified: 11 were motile but lacked reactivity to the 55 reference antisera, and 1 isolate was not flagellated. Two H serovars, kurstaki (H3abc) and tohokuensis (H17), occurred predominantly on canopy phylloplanes. Larvicidal activities against Bombyx mori and/or Aedes aegypti were associated with 49% of the canopy isolates. Strong hemolysis was induced by parasporal inclusion proteins of the two isolates of serovar israelensis (H14). Hemagglutinating (lectin) activity was associated with parasporal proteins of nine isolates. There was little correlation between insecticidal activity and lectin activity.

Screening for feeding deterrent activity of herbal extracts against the larvae of malaria vector Anopheles subpictus Grassi

“…thuringiensis-treated cabbage leaves. B. thuringiensis isolates were examined for oral toxicities against larvae of the silkworm, Bombyx mori, and the dengue fever mosquito, A. aegypti and reported that an isolate of the serovar israelensis (H14) exhibited strong larvicidal activities against both lepidopteran and dipteran insects (Noda et al 2009). Haq et al (2004) have reported that the two bacterial larvicide (bio-larvicide) formulations, Bacticide® and VectoBac ® containing viable endospores and delta endotoxin of B. thuringiensis var israelensis H-14 were evaluated and VectoBac produced reduction in the density of third-and fourth-instar larvae of A. stephensi (98-100%) and A. aegypti (100%) in the first week of application whereas Bacticide produced 71-100% reduction in A. stephensi and 100% in A. aegypti.…”

The use of antigens derived from Bacillus thuringiensis bacteria for further differentiation

“…According to several studies, strains of B. thuringiensis tend to be associated with the feces of animals living in national parks or kept in zoos (Swiecicka, et al, 2002;Noda et al, 2009;Djenane et al, 2017). In particular, this organism was quite frequently revealed in the feces of animals that are herbivores.…”