Characterization of Bacillus thuringiensis isolates from Argentina potentially useful in insect pest control

BERÓN, C.M.; SALERNO, G.L.

BIOCONTROL (DORDRECHT)

Kluwer Academic Publishers

Lugar: Dordrecht; Año: 2006 vol. 51 p. 779 - 794

1386-6141

In order to find novel strains toxic against some of the major pests that impact economically important crops in Argentina, we initiated a search for native B.  thuringiensis isolates collected in different localities. We succeeded in building a collection of 41 isolates, which includes strains with high potential to be used against lepidopteran and coleopteran pests. About 90% of the strains showed toxicity towards Spodoptera frugiperda and Anticarsia gemmatalis, two important lepidopteran pests in Argentina. Remarkably, in contrast to previous studies, only one of those strains contained a cry1-type gene. Moreover, another noteworthy isolate showed a dual toxicity against the lepidopteran and coleopteran insects assayed. The genetic characterization of the strains suggests that the collection likely harbors novel Cry proteins and may have a promising potential as a biological insect pest control.