• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.553-557
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• 2007

In order to detect and identify the most toxic Bacillus thuringiensis strains against pests, we isolated a B. thuringiensis strain (Bn1) from Balaninus nucum (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), the most damaging hazelnut pest. Bn1 was characterized via morphological, biochemical, and molecular techniques. The isolate was serotyped, and the results showed that Bn1 was the B. thuringiensis serovar, kurstaki (H3abc). The scanning electron microscopy indicated that Bn1 has crystals with cubic and bipyramidal shapes. The Polymerase Chain Reactions (PCRs) revealed the presence of the cry1 and cry2 genes. The presence of Cry1 and Cry2 proteins in the Bn1 isolate was confirmed via SDS-PAGE, at approximately 130 kDa and 65 kDa, respectively. The bioassays conducted to determine the insecticidal activity of the Bn1 isolate were conducted with four distinct insects, using spore-crystal mixtures. We noted that Bn1 has higher toxicity as compared with the standard B. thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki (HD-1). The highest observed mortality was 90% against Malacosoma neustria and Lymantria dispar larvae. Our results show that the B. thuringiensis isolate (Bn1) may prove valuable as a significant microbial control agent against lepidopteran pests.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.1057-1062
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• 2004

The entomopathogenic bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis is the most widely used biopesticide. Insecticidal proteins, coded by genes located in plasmids, form typical parasporal, crystalline inclusions during sporulation. We isolated a Bacillus thuringiensis strain having insecticidal activity against larvae of the house fly (M. domestica) from the soils at a pig farm in Korea, and named it Bacillus thuringiensis SM. The culture filtrate from Bacillus thuringiensis SM showed strong lethality (83.3%) against M. domestica larvae. The parasporal crystal is enclosed within the spores' outermost envelope, as determined by transmission electron microscopy, and exhibited a bipyramidal form. The crystal proteins of strain SM consisted of five proteins with molecular weights of approximately ~130, ~80, ~68, ~42, and ~27 kDa on a 10% SDS-PAGE (major band, a size characteristic of Cry protein). Examination of antibiotic resistance revealed that the strain SM showed multiple resistant. The strain SM had at least three different plasmids with sizes of 6.6, 9.3, and 54 kb. Polymerase chain reactions (PCRs) revealed the presence of cry1, cry4A2, and cry11A1 genes in the strain SM. The cry1 gene profile of the strain SM appeared in the three respective products of 487 bp [cry1A(c)], 414 bp [cry1D], and 238 bp [cry1A(b)]. However, the strain SM has not shown the cry4A2 md cry11A1 genes. In in vivo toxicity assays, the strain SM showed high toxicity on fly larvae (M. domestic) [with $LC_{50}$ of 4.2 mg/ml, $LC_{90}$ of 8.2 mg/ml].

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.872-879
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• 2015

Many strains of Bacillus cereus cause gastrointestinal diseases, and the closely related insect pathogen Bacillus thuringiensis has also been involved in outbreaks of diarrhea. The diarrheal diseases are attributed to enterotoxins. Sixteen reference strains of B. cereus and nine commercial and 12 reference strains of B. thuringiensis were screened by PCR for the presence of 10 enterotoxigenic genes (hblA, hblC, hblD, nheA, nheB, nheC, cytK, bceT, entFM, and entS), one emetogenic gene (ces), seven hemolytic genes (hlyA, hlyII, hlyIII, plcA, cerA, cerB, and cerO), and a pleiotropic transcriptional activator gene (plcR). These genes encode various enterotoxins and other virulence factors thought to play a role in infections of mammals. Amplicons were successfully generated from the strains of B. cereus and B. thuringiensis for each of these sequences, except the ces gene. Intriguingly, the majority of these B. cereus enterotoxin genes and other virulence factor genes appeared to be widespread among B. thuringiensis strains as well as B. cereus strains.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.25 no.12
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• pp.2043-2048
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• 2015

Bacillus thuringiensis microbial insecticide products have been applied worldwide. Although a few cases of B. thuringiensis foodborne illness have been reported, little is known about the toxigenic properties of B. thuringiensis isolates. The aims of this study were to estimate the pathogenic potential of B. thuringiensis selected from microbial insecticide products, based on its possession of toxin genes and production of enterotoxins. Fifty-two B. thuringiensis strains selected from four kinds of microbial insecticide products were analyzed. PCR assay for detection of toxin genes and immunoassay for detection of enterotoxins were performed. The hemolysin BL complex as a major enterotoxin was produced by 17 (32.7%), whereas the non-hemolytic enterotoxin complex was detected in 1 (1.9%) of 52 B. thuringiensis strains. However, cytK, entFM, and ces genes were not detected in any of the tested B. thuringiensis strains. The potential risk of food poisoning by B. thuringiensis along with concerns over B. thuringiensis microbial insecticide products has gained attention recently. Thus, microbial insecticide products based on B. thuringiensis should be carefully controlled.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.361-367
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• 2010

Bacterial contamination of cooked rice was analyzed to evaluate the microbial safety. Thirty raw rice samples were collected in Korea and cooked in an electric rice cooker. Mesophilic aerobe, food-poisoning Bacillus cereus group, and their toxin genes were determined on cooked rice. The percentage of total mesophilic aerobe based on 1-3 log CFU/g was 27% among the samples. Bacillus spp. in MYP selective medium was similar to the number of mesophilic aerobe, whileas Bacillus spp. was detected in most samples after enrichment. Thirty-seven isolates from 30 cooked rices were identified as B. thuringiensis, B. cereus, B. valismortis, B. pumilus, B. coagulans, B. licheniformis, Geobacillus stearothermophilus, and Brevibacillus laterosporus. Twenty isolates (54%), more than half of the isolates, were B. thuringiensis while nine (27%) were identified as B. cereus. All B. thuringiensis isolates possessed non-hemolytic toxin genes and interestingly, seven B. cereus among nine isolates possessed emetic toxin genes. More B. thuringiensis was present on the cooked rice than B. cereus and most B. cereus possessed emetic toxin genes rather than diarrheal toxin genes. Therefore, food-borne outbreak due to B.cereus on the cooked rice kept at room temperature might be examples of emetic food-poisoning.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.205-208
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• 1986

The 23 serovars of Bacillus thuringiensis strain were commonly gram-positive and motile, formed endotoxin crystals, produced acid and alkali in the KIA media, and acid from glucose, hydrolyzed starch, and reduced nitrate but did not produce H$_2$S, oxidase and indole, did not decompose lysine, ornithine, phenylalanine, malonate, lactose, dulcitol, adonitol, inositol, sorbitol, arabinose, raffinose, rhamnose, maltose, and xylose. Eighteen serovars were positive in the MR tests and 15 in the VP tests. Four serovars used citrate. Five serovars produced urease, 5 $CO_2$ from glucose, 2 DNase, and 15 lecithinase. Twelve serovars decomposed arginine, 11 did sucrose, 2 manitol, and 9 salicin Serovar tohokuensis did not hemolyze, but the others did.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.159-165
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• 1997

We collected 3,237 plant samples, mainly leaves of various trees, from many provinces in Korea and a total of 1,925 Bacillus thuringiensis isolates were obtained and characterized. The isolates were characterized in terms of crystal morphology, PAGE pattern of the toxin proteins, plasmids pattern, biochemical characteristics, and bioassay. The microscopic observation showed that 49.1% of the isolates have bipyramidal shape crystals, 7.1% of spherical shape crystals, 1.4% of rhomboidal shape crystals, and others have small or amorphous inclusions. The insecticidal activities of the spore-crystal mixtures of isolates were tested against Plutella xylostella, Bombyx mori, Culex pipiens, and Agelastica coerulea. Bioassay showed that 51.3% of the isolates were shown to be active; lepidopteran-specific (44.8%), dipteran-specific(4.9%) and coleopteran-specific (1.6%). The remainder(48.8%) did not show any activity against the insects we tested. Interestingly though, some of these non-active isolates were shown to have bipyramidal crystals. By serotyping 22 isolates of our collection, we found that there are various kind of subspecies such as aizawai, amagiens, canadensis, darmstadiensis, galleriae, finitimus, kurstaki, morrisoni and neoleonensis, and three isolates have been classified into a new serotype, H49, and one of them, the type strain, named subsp. muju. From this study it was found that phylloplane is a good source for the isolation of Bacillius thuringiensis, and Bacillus thuringiensis is distributed widely in Korea.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.425-429
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• 1987

The extra-cellular hemolysin from Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis was purified in the process of suiting with (NH$_4$)$_2$SO$_4$, Sephadex G-200 gel filtration, and DEAE-cellulose column chromatography. The purified hemolysin had molecular weight of approximately 47,000 dalton on SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The activity of purified hemolysin on human red blood cells was increased by thiol agents, but that was Inhibited by cholesterol, protease treatment, and metal salts such as CuSO$_4$, and FeSO$_4$, respectively.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.457-465
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• 2008

Eight Bacillus thuringiensis strains activated against mosquito larva were compared their characterization. Spherical-shaped parasporal inclusion of B. thuringiensis subsp. tohokuensis CAB167 was observed by phase-contrast microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. $LC_{50}$ values of B. thuringiensis subsp. tohokuensis CAB167 against Culex pipiens molestus, Culex pipiens pallens, and Aedes aegyti were 173, 190 and 580 ng/ml, respectively. B. thuringiensis subsp. tohokuensis CAB167 had a parasporal inclusion containing 4 major protein components, for example, 135, 80, 49 and 28-kDa by SDS-PAGE. Otherwise, after trypsin digestion of parasporal inclusion, SDS-PAGE was showed new protease-resistant peptides at 72 and 63-kDa. Activated toxins of isolated CAB167 were different from other reference strains on a serological by immuno-diffusion test.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.194-199
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• 2005

In oder to select an antifungal substance-producing antagonistic bacterium against Fusarium oxysporum casuing fusarium wilt on tomato, strain BK4 was isolated from local soil of Gyeoungbuk and was identified as Bacillus thuringiensis by 16s rDNA analysis, biochemical test, and Mcirolog TM 3.0 System. The antibiotic of B. thuringiensis BK 4 was highly produced at $30^{\circ}C$ in nutrient broth (pH 9.0). The crude antibiotic was even stable at $121^{\circ}C$ and more stable at slight alkalic condition than acid condition. It was also remained $50{\%}$ activity at pH 3.0. B. thuringiensis BK4 showed the inhibition of spore germination and the biocontrol ability against F. oxysporum causing fusarium wilt of tomato in vivo test. According to these results, B. thuringiensis BK4 was enough to use with a microbial agent for biocontrol against fusarium wilt.