The insect pathogenic bacterium Xenorhabdus innexi has attenuated virulence in multiple insect model hosts yet encodes a potent mosquitocidal toxin.

Background: Xenorhabdus innexi is a bacterial symbiont of Steinernema scapterisci nematodes, which is a cricket-specialist parasite and together the nematode and bacteria infect and kill crickets. Curiously, X. innexi expresses a potent extracellular mosquitocidal toxin activity in culture supernatants.