English (United Kingdom)

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/featured_content/oa?rat=en

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/highlighted_journal/

Global: Zendy Plus annual

Presents the access of premium content as premium feature

Premium Content

Presents the keyphrase highlighting as premium feature

Keyphrase Highlighting

Presents the summarisation as premium feature

Summarisation

Insights

Presents the pdf analysis as premium feature

PDF Analysis

Presents the zaia usage as premium feature

ZAIA

Global: Zendy Tools annual

Global: Zendy Free Plan

Global: Zendy Tools monthly

Global: Zendy Plus monthly

Bacillus thuringiensis is a Gram-positive bacterium that produces crystalline endotoxins and is widely considered an environmentally safe insecticide to control mosquitoes and a number of agriculture pests. Bacteria closely related to B. thuringiensis have recently been discovered in association with diseased sponges, which has raised concerns that Bacillus insecticides may be harm- ful to tropical marine invertebrates. We exposed coral larvae and juvenile corals to the insecticides VectoBac ® G (containing B. thuringiensis israelensis) and VectoLex ® G (containing B. sphaericus). VectoBac G and VectoLex G had no effect on the survival and metamorphosis of Acropora millepora and A. tenuis larvae at very high concentrations (5000 µg l -1 ). The juvenile corals of the same species were also unaffected after 4 sequential 48 h exposures to B. thuringiensis israelensis and B. sphaeri- cus at different stages of development. Adult corals (A. millepora) and sponges (Ianthella basta) were exposed to a single 6 h pulse of 1000 µg l -1 VectoBac G. Although B. thuringiensis israelensis was detected in the seawater using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis, it was not detected in associ- ation with the corals or sponges. No evidence of coral or sponge disease was observed during the following 2 wk. These results indicate that insecticides containing endotoxin-producing Bacillus spp. are unlikely to be acutely pathogenic to corals and sponges. However, the effect on most tropical marine invertebrates remain untested and the risks of seed populations of alien Bacillus becoming established on reefs and horizontal transfer of toxin genes to native bacteria also need to be addressed.

Bacillus insecticides are not acutely harmful to corals and sponges