Expression of Bacillus thuringiensis serovar. israelensis toxins in Asticcacaulis excentricus to control dipteran larvae of vectors of diseases

Bacillus thuringiensis cry genes encode for a diverse group of crystal-forming proteins that exhibit insecticidal activity towards dipteran, lepidopteran and coleopteran larvae. The effectiveness of insecticides based on mosquito larvicidal B. thuringiensis strains can be enhanced by using aquatic prosthecated bacteria as alternative hosts, since they do not sink, cytoplasmic located toxins are protected f rom UV radiation and, most importantly, mosquito larvae feed on them. An Asticcacaulis excentricus reference strain was transformed with the cry1 1Aa gene from Bacillus thuringiensis serovar. israelensis. Western blot and electrophoresis were used to test recombinant protein expression; Western blot revealed a 72 kDa protein corresponding to B. thuringiensis serovar. israelensis Cry1 1 Aa. These aquatic bacte­rias toxicity achieved 50% mortality at 23 ng/mL concentration in f irst instar Culex quinquefasciatus larvae. Other bioassays indicated that recombinant A. excentricus is toxic against Aedes aegyptiand Anopheles albimanus first instar larvae. Buoyancy tests demonstrated the advantage of A. excentricus over B. thuringiensis. Key words: Asticcacaulis excentricus, Bacillus thuringiensis, prosthecated bacteria, dengue, malaria.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Guevara, Óscar Enrique, Armengol, Gemma, Crickmore, Neil, Orduz, Sergio
Format: Digital revista
Language:spa
Published: Universidad Nacional de Colombia - Sede Bogotá - Instituto de Biotecnología 2004
Online Access:https://revistas.unal.edu.co/index.php/biotecnologia/article/view/538
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