Diversity of indigenous Bacillus thuringiensis isolates toxic to the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.) (Plutellidae: Lepidoptera)

Abstract Background Toxins from the Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) bacterium are employed as an alternative to synthetic pesticides in pest management. The greatest threat to the long-term viability of Bt toxins is resistance evolution in the target pests. Genetic diversity and toxicity of Bt isolates...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: R. Naga Sri Navya, V. Balasubramani, M. Raveendran, M. Murugan, A. Lakshmanan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SpringerOpen 2021-12-01
Series:Egyptian Journal of Biological Pest Control
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s41938-021-00495-2
_version_ 1818344970341318656
author R. Naga Sri Navya
V. Balasubramani
M. Raveendran
M. Murugan
A. Lakshmanan
author_facet R. Naga Sri Navya
V. Balasubramani
M. Raveendran
M. Murugan
A. Lakshmanan
author_sort R. Naga Sri Navya
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background Toxins from the Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) bacterium are employed as an alternative to synthetic pesticides in pest management. The greatest threat to the long-term viability of Bt toxins is resistance evolution in the target pests. Genetic diversity and toxicity of Bt isolates were studied in this work in order to find Bt isolates with novel cry genes. Results In terms of colony morphology, among a total of 60 isolates, 51 isolates had off-white colour colonies with typical fried egg appearance, irregular shape, flat and undulate margin. Different crystal shapes, viz. spherical (88.13%), bipyramidal (49.15%), cuboidal (42.37%), rectangular, and crystals attached to spores (3.38%) were observed among Bt isolates. SDS-PAGE analysis of spore crystal mixture showed the presence of proteins with various molecular weights ranging from 124 to 26 kDa. PCR screening with cry1, cry2, cry9 and vip3A1 primers showed isolates with varied insecticidal gene combinations. Bt isolates containing cry1 genes were found to be abundant (30), followed by cry2 (9) and vip3A1 (9). Cry9 was absent in all the 60 isolates tested. Insecticidal activity of spore crystal mixtures ranged from 0 to 100% mortality. Furthermore, 12 isolates were found to be highly toxic against the larvae of diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.) (Plutellidae: Lepidoptera) with 100% mortality, at 25 µg/ml in leaf disc bioassay. Conclusions The present work established the diversity of Bt isolates and confirmed the importance of continuous exploration of new Bt isolates for novel genes. Further, research needs to be carried out to unveil the hidden potential of these toxic isolates.
first_indexed 2024-12-13T16:54:56Z
format Article
id doaj.art-3814afd867d34175a062eac124c9c1e8
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2536-9342
language English
last_indexed 2024-12-13T16:54:56Z
publishDate 2021-12-01
publisher SpringerOpen
record_format Article
series Egyptian Journal of Biological Pest Control
spelling doaj.art-3814afd867d34175a062eac124c9c1e82022-12-21T23:37:56ZengSpringerOpenEgyptian Journal of Biological Pest Control2536-93422021-12-013111710.1186/s41938-021-00495-2Diversity of indigenous Bacillus thuringiensis isolates toxic to the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.) (Plutellidae: Lepidoptera)R. Naga Sri Navya0V. Balasubramani1M. Raveendran2M. Murugan3A. Lakshmanan4Department of Agricultural Entomology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural UniversityDepartment of Plant Biotechnology, Centre for Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural UniversityDepartment of Plant Biotechnology, Centre for Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural UniversityDepartment of Agricultural Entomology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural UniversityDepartment of Nano Science and Technology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural UniversityAbstract Background Toxins from the Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) bacterium are employed as an alternative to synthetic pesticides in pest management. The greatest threat to the long-term viability of Bt toxins is resistance evolution in the target pests. Genetic diversity and toxicity of Bt isolates were studied in this work in order to find Bt isolates with novel cry genes. Results In terms of colony morphology, among a total of 60 isolates, 51 isolates had off-white colour colonies with typical fried egg appearance, irregular shape, flat and undulate margin. Different crystal shapes, viz. spherical (88.13%), bipyramidal (49.15%), cuboidal (42.37%), rectangular, and crystals attached to spores (3.38%) were observed among Bt isolates. SDS-PAGE analysis of spore crystal mixture showed the presence of proteins with various molecular weights ranging from 124 to 26 kDa. PCR screening with cry1, cry2, cry9 and vip3A1 primers showed isolates with varied insecticidal gene combinations. Bt isolates containing cry1 genes were found to be abundant (30), followed by cry2 (9) and vip3A1 (9). Cry9 was absent in all the 60 isolates tested. Insecticidal activity of spore crystal mixtures ranged from 0 to 100% mortality. Furthermore, 12 isolates were found to be highly toxic against the larvae of diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.) (Plutellidae: Lepidoptera) with 100% mortality, at 25 µg/ml in leaf disc bioassay. Conclusions The present work established the diversity of Bt isolates and confirmed the importance of continuous exploration of new Bt isolates for novel genes. Further, research needs to be carried out to unveil the hidden potential of these toxic isolates.https://doi.org/10.1186/s41938-021-00495-2Bacillus thuringiensisDiversityPlutella xylostellaGenesMortalityCrystal
spellingShingle R. Naga Sri Navya
V. Balasubramani
M. Raveendran
M. Murugan
A. Lakshmanan
Diversity of indigenous Bacillus thuringiensis isolates toxic to the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.) (Plutellidae: Lepidoptera)
Egyptian Journal of Biological Pest Control
Bacillus thuringiensis
Diversity
Plutella xylostella
Genes
Mortality
Crystal
title Diversity of indigenous Bacillus thuringiensis isolates toxic to the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.) (Plutellidae: Lepidoptera)
title_full Diversity of indigenous Bacillus thuringiensis isolates toxic to the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.) (Plutellidae: Lepidoptera)
title_fullStr Diversity of indigenous Bacillus thuringiensis isolates toxic to the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.) (Plutellidae: Lepidoptera)
title_full_unstemmed Diversity of indigenous Bacillus thuringiensis isolates toxic to the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.) (Plutellidae: Lepidoptera)
title_short Diversity of indigenous Bacillus thuringiensis isolates toxic to the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.) (Plutellidae: Lepidoptera)
title_sort diversity of indigenous bacillus thuringiensis isolates toxic to the diamondback moth plutella xylostella l plutellidae lepidoptera
topic Bacillus thuringiensis
Diversity
Plutella xylostella
Genes
Mortality
Crystal
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s41938-021-00495-2
work_keys_str_mv AT rnagasrinavya diversityofindigenousbacillusthuringiensisisolatestoxictothediamondbackmothplutellaxylostellalplutellidaelepidoptera
AT vbalasubramani diversityofindigenousbacillusthuringiensisisolatestoxictothediamondbackmothplutellaxylostellalplutellidaelepidoptera
AT mraveendran diversityofindigenousbacillusthuringiensisisolatestoxictothediamondbackmothplutellaxylostellalplutellidaelepidoptera
AT mmurugan diversityofindigenousbacillusthuringiensisisolatestoxictothediamondbackmothplutellaxylostellalplutellidaelepidoptera
AT alakshmanan diversityofindigenousbacillusthuringiensisisolatestoxictothediamondbackmothplutellaxylostellalplutellidaelepidoptera