title: Microbial ecology and association of Bacillus thuringiensis in chicken feces originating from feed.
abstract: To explain the association of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) with animal feces, an ecological analysis in chickens was conducted by introducing a cry(-) strain marked by production of green fluorescent protein (GFP). After feeding with the tagged Bt strains, the feces of the tested chickens were collected at different times, isolated, and the morphology of Bt was observed. It was shown that Bt strain HD-73GFP in spore form could be isolated from feces of chickens for a period of 13 d, and then it disappeared thereafter. Bt could be detected only up to day 4 (but not thereafter), when chickens were fed with vegetative cells of HD-73GFP. To confirm the source of newly isolated strains, the gfp gene was examined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which showed that all the isolated strains harbored the marker gene. Recent data from isolation and PCR had suggested that fecal Bt strains had originated from food. Chicken tissues were thus dissected to isolate Bt strains and to investigate whether Bt could be located in vivo. Bt was located within the duodenum in spore form. Compared to the morphology of the isolated strains at different growth times, the growth rates of all the tested Bt had little changes when passing through the digestive system to the feces. Dissection of the chickens confirmed that Bt was safe for the tested animal.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Biopesticide and Chemical Biology, Ministry of Education, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, Fujian, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Lingling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.forename: Songqing
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Linying
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Enjiong
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Tianpei
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Changbiao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Ivan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Gelbič
authors.forename: Xiong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Guan
mesh_terms: D000821:Animal Feed / Q000382:microbiology*; D000818:Animals; D001413:Bacillus thuringiensis / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002645:Chickens / Q000382:microbiology*; D004386:Duodenum / Q000382:microbiology; D017753:Ecosystem; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology*; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins