Planktonic versus colony growth of Bacillus thuringiensis affects gene expression in vitro and infectivity against an insect host, Galleria mellonella.

The entomopathogenic bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis, can complete its life cycle in environments of varying densities like insects, cadavers and soil. The stationary growth phase of the bacterial lifecycle includes virulent, necrotrophic and sporulation stages, which are under the control of pleotropic regulators of quorum sensing. In addition to insecticidal Cry-toxins, B.