Bacillus thuringiensis

Bacillus thuringiensis is a soil-dwelling, spore-forming bacterium that produces insecticidal proteins, including crystal-forming Cry proteins, toxic to certain insect larvae.

Cry protein: An insecticidal protein produced by Bacillus thuringiensis that can damage susceptible insect larvae after ingestion. These crystal-forming proteins account for many of the bacterium’s insecticidal effects.
Bt crops: Genetically engineered crops that produce insecticidal proteins derived from Bacillus thuringiensis. These crops express Bt proteins within plant tissues to control particular insect pests.
Ernst Berliner: A German scientist who described Bacillus thuringiensis in 1911 from diseased flour-moth larvae. Berliner named the bacterium after the German region of Thuringia where the larvae were found.
Refuge strategy: A resistance-management approach that plants non-Bt crops near Bt crops to maintain susceptible insects in a population. Susceptible insects from refuges can mate with rare resistant survivors of Bt crops.
Bacillus sphaericus: A soil bacterium used as a microbial larvicide against certain mosquito species. It offers mosquito control through a different bacterial species and toxin system.
Vip protein: A vegetative insecticidal protein made by Bacillus thuringiensis during active growth. Vip proteins provide insecticidal activity distinct from the familiar crystal-forming toxins.
Bt corn: Maize varieties genetically engineered to produce one or more insecticidal proteins from Bacillus thuringiensis. Bt corn targets pests such as European corn borer and some rootworms, depending on its traits.
Shigetane Ishiwata: A Japanese researcher who reported a bacterium associated with diseased silkworm larvae in 1901. His early report preceded Berliner’s description of the organism under its familiar name.
Gene flow in genetically modified crops: The movement of genetic material from engineered crops into other populations through pollen or seed dispersal. Bt crop deployment has prompted assessment of whether engineered traits can spread to nearby plants.
Spinosad: A microbial-derived insecticide whose active compounds are produced by the soil bacterium Saccharopolyspora spinosa. It is another biologically derived insecticide, but its compounds act on insect nervous systems.

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