title: Are nematodes a missing link in the confounded ecology of the entomopathogen Bacillus thuringiensis?
abstract: Bacillus thuringiensis, which is well known as an entomopathogen, has been accepted by the public as a safe bioinsecticide. The natural ecology of this bacterium has never been particularly clear, with views ranging from it being an obligate pathogen to an opportunist pathogen that can otherwise exist as a soil saprophyte or a plant endophyte. This confusion has recently led to it being considered as an environmental pathogen that has evolved to occupy a diverse set of environmental niches in which it can thrive without needing a host. A significant driving force behind this classification is the fact that B. thuringiensis is found in high numbers in environments that are not occupied by the insect hosts to which it is pathogenic. It is our opinion that the ubiquitous presence of this bacterium in the environment is the result of a variety of vectoring systems, particularly those that include nematodes.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.
authors.forename: Lifang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ruan
authors.affiliation: School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, BN1 9QG, UK.
authors.forename: Neil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Crickmore
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.
authors.forename: Donghai
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China. Electronic address: m98sun@mail.hzau.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sun
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001413:Bacillus thuringiensis / Q000145:classification* / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology; D017753:Ecosystem; D060026:Endophytes; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D007313:Insecta / Q000382:microbiology; D009348:Nematoda / Q000382:microbiology*; D012988:Soil Microbiology
keywords: Bacillus thuringiensis; ecology; host; nematodes