Bacillus thuringiensis The Bacteria, Bacillus Thuringiensis

Insects such as mosquitoes and black flies transmit some of the world's most deadly diseases. Through the transmission of pathogenic microorganisms between humans and animals, these blood-sucking pests have caused inestimable damage. Over the last several decades numerous synthetic organic insecticides have been applied to this problem. Unfortunately, many of these chemicals themselves also create both health and environmental hazards. As a result, researchers have focused on alternative strategies for insect management. Of the different microorganisms that attack the pests, Bacillus thuringiensis has shown considerable potential as a biologic pesticide.

The various microorganisms that may be pathogenic for insects include an array of bacteria, viruses, and fungi. Of the entomopathogenic bacteria, however, the sporeforming bacilli have the ability to inf

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formation (1:489). It appears that parasporal protein synthesis starts at about stage II or stage III of sporulation. The resulting crystal comprises about 20-30% of the total sporangium protein. While typically bipyramidal in shape, inclusion structure may vary depending upon both the B. thuringiensis subspecies and, to a certain extent, the bacteria's growth environment. Most crystal inclusions actually contain a number of different proteins. For example, the B. thuringiensis subsp. Kurstaki HD-1's inclusion body consists of five assorted polypeptides. These different molecules are held together by complex interactions. Hydrophobicity, hydrogen bonding, and disulfide bonds may all contribute towards the maintenance of crystalline configuration (3:617). The genes for B. thuringiensis proteins often occur on plasmids. These bacteria generally have an array of plasmid-encoded protoxin genes. The number and size of these plasmids show considerable variation. For the most part though, subspecies that contain many plasmids tend to have a broader size range. These subspecies may, for example, have plasmids in the following size groups: 4-6 megadaltons (MDa), 30 MDa, and 100 MDa. In contrast, certain other B. thuringiensis
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Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page)

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