title: A novel bioassay system for evaluating the toxicity of Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis against mosquito larvae.
abstract: A bioassay system employing acutely toxic concentrations of a spore-crystal mixture of Bacillus thuringiensis subspecies israelensis against fourth instar larvae of Aedes aegypti (L.) is described. Individual larvae are separately exposed to toxin in glass-lined miniature wells or scintillation vials. This method is free from the deaths due to predation among larvae. Such larval deaths are commonly encountered in bioassay groups of 25 larvae as currently specified in the World Health Organization guidelines. Our method offers shortened testing time, increased accuracy, and improved statistical precision.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill 27599-3280.
authors.forename: D W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Misch
authors.forename: D F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Burnside
authors.forename: T L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Cecil
mesh_terms: D000330:Aedes; D000818:Animals; D001413:Bacillus thuringiensis; D000083722:Bacillus thuringiensis Toxins; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D001681:Biological Assay; D004731:Endotoxins; D006460:Hemolysin Proteins; D007814:Larva; D010572:Pest Control, Biological
chemical_list: D000083722:Bacillus thuringiensis Toxins; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D004731:Endotoxins; D006460:Hemolysin Proteins; C030956:insecticidal crystal protein, Bacillus Thuringiensis