Bacillus thuringiensis growth and toxicity

Abstract

Despite the known importance of the composition of culture media and culture conditions on Bacillus thuringiensis growth and toxicity, very few reviews are concerned with this subject. This article reviews some aspects of the microbiology of Bacillus thuringiensis, and how toxicity is affected by the composition of growth media and bioreactor operation.

The effect of oxygen on the sporulation, δ-endotoxin synthesis and toxicity of Bacillus thuringiensis H14

“…Oxygen is necessary for all aerobic fermentation. Maintaining the appropriate concentration of dissolved oxygen has been pointed out as an important factor in the fermentation of B. thuringiensis (Avignone- Rossa & Mignone 1995;Morris et al 1996;Flores et al 1997) Although there is a considerable amount of literature available in relation to the effects of oxygen on the biomass concentration (Liu et al 1994) and toxin synthesis (Foda et al 1985;Dulmage et al 1990;Maldonado-Blanco et al 2003) the research was invariably carried out under constant aeration conditions, all along the culture, in flasks or laboratory fermenters. However the oxygen demands of culture are not the same all along the culture and depend strictly on the dominant physiological state of the microbial population in the culture.…”

Specific Oxygen Uptake Rate Variations during Batch Fermentation of Bacillus thuringiensis Subspecies kurstaki HD‐1

“…On the order of 13,000 tonnes of Bt is used worldwide annually to control pests on a wide range of food and fiber crops, in commercial forestry, and in ornamental crops, as well as in environmentally benign programs for control of diseases spread by mosquito and black fly vectors (2,3). Knowledge on both fundamental aspects of the biology, biochemistry and genetics of this microorganism and applied considerations related to production of Bt bioinsecticides has been reviewed within recent years (4,5).…”

Hot, humid air decontamination of a C-130 aircraft contaminated with spores of two acrystalliferous Bacillus thuringiensis strains, surrogates for Bacillus anthracis

“…not classified as genetically modified and therefore more likely to pass public perception for field testing). The parent strain of B. thuringiensis cry À HD-1 was approved for commercial production and field release and has a significant amount of toxicology data (Anon 1986, 1999, Beegle and Yamamoto 1992Agaisse and Lereclus 1995;Avignone-Rossa and Mignone 1995;Bishop and Robinson 2014). Spore decontamination data also support selection of acrystalliferous B. thuringiensis spores as surrogates for B. anthracis (Buhr et al 2012a(Buhr et al , 2013(Buhr et al , 2015aProkop et al 2014).…”