title: Prediction of insecticidal activity of Bacillus thuringiensis strains by polymerase chain reaction product profiles.
abstract: A rapid analysis of Bacillus thuringiensis strains predictive of insecticidal activity was established by using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology. Primers specific to regions of high homology within genes encoding three major classes of B. thuringiensis crystal proteins were used to generate a PCR product profile characteristic of each insecticidal class. Predictions of insecticidal activity were made on the basis of the electrophoretic patterns of the PCR products. Included in the screen were PCR primers specific for cryI, cryIII, and cryIV genes, which are insecticidal for lepidopterans, coleopterans, and dipterans, respectively. Known B. thuringiensis strains as well as unidentified strains isolated from soil and insect cadavers were analyzed by PCR. Small amounts of crude sample lysates were assayed in a single PCR reaction containing 12 to 20 primers capable of distinguishing between the different insecticidal genes. Insecticidal activity predicted by the PCR screen was found to correspond with the insecticidal activity of insect bioassays. In addition to identifying strains with known insecticidal genes, the PCR screen can identify strains with altered electrophoretic patterns containing potentially novel genes.
authors.affiliation: CIBA-Geigy Biotechnology Research Unit, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709.
authors.forename: N B
authors.initials: NB
authors.lastname: Carozzi
authors.forename: V C
authors.initials: VC
authors.lastname: Kramer
authors.forename: G W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Warren
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Evola
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Koziel
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001413:Bacillus thuringiensis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D000083722:Bacillus thuringiensis Toxins; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D001483:Base Sequence; D001517:Coleoptera / Q000187:drug effects; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry; D004175:Diptera / Q000187:drug effects; D004731:Endotoxins; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D006460:Hemolysin Proteins; D007306:Insecticides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007915:Lepidoptera / Q000187:drug effects; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010572:Pest Control, Biological; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D000083722:Bacillus thuringiensis Toxins; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004731:Endotoxins; D006460:Hemolysin Proteins; D007306:Insecticides; C030956:insecticidal crystal protein, Bacillus Thuringiensis