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Comparative study of the frequency and flagellar serotype flora of Bacillus thuringiensis in soils and silkworm‐breeding environments
Author(s) -
Ohba M.,
Aratake Y.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
journal of applied bacteriology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.889
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1365-2672
pISSN - 0021-8847
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2672.1994.tb01617.x
Subject(s) - bacillus thuringiensis , sericulture , bombyx mori , biology , aedes aegypti , serotype , cereus , bacillus cereus , veterinary medicine , larva , microbiology and biotechnology , bacteria , botany , gene , biochemistry , medicine , genetics
Two environments, soils and silkworm ( Bombyx mort )‐breeding farms, in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, were explored for the comparative analysis of the frequency and the flagellar (H) serotype flora of Bacillus thuringiensis. This organism was found in 39.3% of the sericulture farms and 18.5% of the silkworm litter samples. The frequency of B. thuringiensis was 4.5% among the populations of the Bacillus cereus/B. thuringiensis group in silkworm‐breeding insectaries. The predominant H serotype detected in silkworm litters was 4ac (35.6%), followed by serotypes 3abc (20.0%), 8ab (13.3%), 4ab (13.3%) and 7 (2.2%). The majority (87.1%) of sericulture‐derived isolates exhibited larvicidal activity against the silkworm and/or the mosquito, Aedes aegypti. Of soil samples examined, 8.1% contained B. thuringiensis. The frequency of B. thuringiensis colonies was 0.6% among soil populations of the B. cereus/B. thuringiensis group. Of 22 soil isolates, 14 were assigned to five H serotypes: 10, 17, 18, 21 and 29. Most soil isolates showed no insecticidal activity against B. mori and A. aegypti , but two, belonging to H serotype 10 and an undescribed serotype, exhibited moderate larvicidal activity against A. aegypti.