Development and field performance of a broad-spectrum nonviable asporogenic recombinant strain of Bacillus thuringiensis with greater potency and UV resistance.

The main problems with Bacillus thuringiensis products for pest control are their often narrow activity spectrum, high sensitivity to UV degradation, and low cost effectiveness (high potency required). We constructed a sporulation-deficient SigK(-) B. thuringiensis strain that expressed a chimeric cry1C/Ab gene, the product of which had high activity against various lepidopteran pests, including Spodoptera littoralis (Egyptian cotton leaf worm) and Spodoptera exigua (lesser [beet] armyworm), which are not readily controlled by other Cry delta-endotoxins.

Improvement of Bacillus sphaericus toxicity against dipteran larvae by integration, via homologous recombination, of the Cry11A toxin gene from Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis.

Integrative plasmids were constructed to enable integration of foreign DNA into the chromosome of Bacillus sphaericus 2297 by in vivo recombination. Integration of the aphA3 kanamycin resistance gene by a two-step procedure demonstrated that this strategy was applicable with antibiotic resistance selection. Hybridization experiments evidenced two copies of the operon encoding the binary toxin from B.

2',5'-oligoadenylate synthetase induction in lymphocytes of patients with connective tissue diseases.

Spontaneous production of the interferon induced enzyme 2',5'-oligoadenylate synthetase (2',5'-A synthetase) was significantly greater in blood lymphocytes of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), Behçet's syndrome, and rheumatoid arthritis than in control lymphocytes. Alpha interferon (IFN-alpha) induced comparable production of enzyme in normal, rheumatoid, and Behçet's lymphocytes, and reduced, but still appreciable amounts in SLE lymphocytes. Phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) did not induce enzyme.