Variations in the mosquito larvicidal activities of toxins from Bacillus thuringiensis ssp. israelensis

Zachariah Ngalo Otieno-Ayayo, Arieh Zaritsky, Margaret C. Wirth, Robert Manasherob, Vadim Khasdan, Rivka Cahan, Eitan Ben-Dov

Research output: Contribution to journalShort surveypeer-review

33 Scopus citations

Abstract

Comparing activities of purified toxins from Bacillus thuringiensis ssp. israelensis against larvae of seven mosquito species (vectors of tropical diseases) that belong to three genera, gleaned from the literature, disclosed highly significant variations in the levels of LC50 as well as in the hierarchy of susceptibilities. Similar toxicity comparisons were performed between nine transgenic Gram-negative species, four of which are cyanobacterial, expressing various combinations of cry genes, cyt1Aa and p20, against larvae of four mosquito species as potential agents for biological control. Reasons for inconsistencies are listed and discussed. Standard conditions for toxin isolation and presentation to larvae are sought. A set of lyophilized powders prepared identically from six Escherichia coli clones expressing combinations of four genes displayed toxicities against larvae of three mosquito species, with levels that differed between them but with identical hierarchy.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2191-2199
Number of pages9
JournalEnvironmental Microbiology
Volume10
Issue number9
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2008

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