Bt_UNVM-84, a Novel Strain Showing Insecticidal Activity against Boheman (Coleoptera: Curculionidae).

is a Gram-positive bacterium known for its insecticidal proteins effective against various insect pests. However, limited strains and proteins target coleopteran pests like Boheman, causing substantial economic losses in the cotton industry. This study focuses on characterizing a sp.

Susceptibility of agricultural pests of regional importance in South America to a Bacillus thuringiensis Cry1Ia protein.

Bacillus thuringiensis toxins of the Cry1I class have dual specificity for insects in the orders Coleoptera and Lepidoptera. We assessed the toxicity of a Cry1Ia protein from an Argentinian B. thuringiensis strain against agricultural pests in the families Tenebrionidae, Curculionidae, Noctuidae and Tortricidae.

Selection of Bacillus thuringiensis strains toxic to cotton boll weevil (Anthonomus grandis, Coleoptera: Curculionidae) larvae.

Preliminary bioassays with whole cultures (WC) of 124 Bacillus thuringiensis strains were performed with neonate larvae of Anthonomus grandis, a major cotton pest in Argentina and other regions of the Americas. Three exotic and four native strains were selected for causing more than 50% mortality. All of them were β-exotoxin producers.

Sequence and expression of two cry8 genes from Bacillus thuringiensis INTA Fr7-4, a native strain from Argentina.

We found and characterized two cry8 genes from the Bacillus thuringiensis strain INTA Fr7-4 isolated in Argentina. These genes, cry8Kb3 and cry8Pa3, are located in a tandem array within a 13,200-bp DNA segment sequenced from a preparation of total DNA. They encode 1,169- and 1,176-amino-acid proteins, respectively.

PCR-based prediction of type I β-exotoxin production in Bacillus thuringiensis strains.

Some Bacillus thuringiensis strains secrete type I β-exotoxin, which is a non-specific insecticidal and thermostable adenine nucleoside oligosaccharide. Toxicity bioassays and HPLC are traditional methods for detecting β-exotoxin. With the aim of establish a first rapid approach for prediction of type I β-exotoxin production, two PCR-based methods were successfully evaluated in B.