title: Fingerprinting of Bacillus thuringiensis type strains and isolates by using Bacillus cereus group-specific repetitive extragenic palindromic sequence-based PCR analysis.
abstract: A total of 119 Bacillus thuringiensis strains (83 type strains and 26 native isolates), as well as five B. cereus group species, were analyzed by repetitive extragenic palindromic sequence-based PCR analysis (Rep-PCR) fingerprinting. Primers Bc-REP-1 and Bc-REP-2 were specifically designed according to an extragenic 26-bp repeated sequence found in the six B. cereus group genomes reported. A total of 47 polymorphic bands were detected, and the patterns varied from 5 to 13 bands in number and from 0.2 to 3.8 kb in size. Virtually each type strain showed a distinctive B. cereus (Bc)-Rep-PCR pattern, except for B. thuringiensis serovars dakota (H serotype 15 [H15]) and sotto (H4a,4b), as well as serovars amagiensis (H29) and seoulensis (H35), which shared the same patterns. As expected, serovar entomocidus (H6) and its biovar subtoxicus showed an identical pattern; similarly, serovars sumiyoshiensis (H3a,3d) and fukuokaensis (H3a,3d,3e), which share two antigenic determinants, also showed identical Bc-Rep-PCR patterns. Interestingly, serovars israelensis (H14) and malaysiensis (H36), which share several phenotypic attributes, also showed identical Bc-Rep-PCR patterns. Native, coleopteran-active strains, including the self-agglutinated LBIT-74 strain, showed Bc-Rep-PCR patterns identical or very similar to that of the tenebrionis strain. Likewise, native mosquitocidal strains (including some self-agglutinated strains) also showed patterns identical or very similar to that of the serovar israelensis IPS-82 strain. Additionally, native beta-exotoxin-producing strains from serovar thuringiensis showed patterns identical to that of the B. thuringiensis type strain. The B. cereus group-specific Bc-Rep-PCR fingerprinting technique was shown to be highly discriminative, fast, easy, and able to identify B. thuringiensis serotypes, including nonflagellar and self-agglutinated strains.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biotecnología y Bioquímica, CINVESTAV, Apartado Postal 629, 36500 Irapuato, Guanajuato, Mexico.
authors.forename: Arturo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Reyes-Ramirez
authors.forename: Jorge E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Ibarra
mesh_terms: D001409:Bacillus cereus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D001413:Bacillus thuringiensis / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D001483:Base Sequence; D016172:DNA Fingerprinting / Q000379:methods*; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012091:Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D004269:DNA, Bacterial