• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.25 no.12
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• pp.2043-2048
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• 2015

Bacillus thuringiensis microbial insecticide products have been applied worldwide. Although a few cases of B. thuringiensis foodborne illness have been reported, little is known about the toxigenic properties of B. thuringiensis isolates. The aims of this study were to estimate the pathogenic potential of B. thuringiensis selected from microbial insecticide products, based on its possession of toxin genes and production of enterotoxins. Fifty-two B. thuringiensis strains selected from four kinds of microbial insecticide products were analyzed. PCR assay for detection of toxin genes and immunoassay for detection of enterotoxins were performed. The hemolysin BL complex as a major enterotoxin was produced by 17 (32.7%), whereas the non-hemolytic enterotoxin complex was detected in 1 (1.9%) of 52 B. thuringiensis strains. However, cytK, entFM, and ces genes were not detected in any of the tested B. thuringiensis strains. The potential risk of food poisoning by B. thuringiensis along with concerns over B. thuringiensis microbial insecticide products has gained attention recently. Thus, microbial insecticide products based on B. thuringiensis should be carefully controlled.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.232-237
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• 2006

Bacillus cereus group comprising B. cereus, B. thuringiensis, and B. mycoides was differentiated by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and colony morphology. Prevalence of B. cereus group in rice and distribution of enterotoxin genes were determined as possible food poisoning agents. PCR using primers targeted for gyrB and cry genes could distinguish B. thuringiensis from B. cereus, and B. mycoides was differentiated by rhizoid morphological characteristics on nutrient agar. Among 136 rice and their processed products, prevalence of B. cereus group was 40%. B. cereus group consisted of 54 B. cereus, 11 B. thuringiensis, and 1 B. mycoides. Major isolates were B. cereus, with B. thuringiensis detected up to 10% among edible rice tested. Five enterotoxin genes, hbl, nhe, bceT, entFM, and cytK, were broadly distributed among B. cereus group, especially in B. cereus and B. thuringiensis. Prevalence of B. cereus group in rice and enterotoxin distribution suggest B. thuringiensis and B. cereus are toxigenic strain that should be controlled in rice and its products.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.519-526
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• 2009

Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki KB100 isolated from the domestic soil have the most effective activity against the beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua larva. The tannic acid as protease inhibitor might be increased the efficacy of sublethal concentrations of B. thuringiensis. The tannic acid was identified as a protease inhibitor that could increased the efficacy of sublethal concentrations of B. thuringiensis. Mixture of B. thuringiensis and tannic acid was investigated the mortality of S. exigua larva in the laboratory and field. When B. thuringiensis treated to 2nd larva of S. exigua, mortality was shown 54.4%. However, mixtures of B. thuringiensis with 4 and 40 mM tannic acid were increased mortalities to 2nd larva of S. exigua as 64.0 and 95.5%, respectively. Also, synergy effect of mixture of B. thuringiensis and 40 mM tannic acid was increased the mortality of S. exigua 3rd larva to 93.3%, even though 60.0% mortality with only B. thuringiensis treatment. On the other hand, the mortality of mixture with B. thuringiensis and 80 mM tannic acid was 53.3% lower than B. thuringiensis single treatment. In the welsh onion field, the accumulated mortalities of 3 times replicated with mixture of B. thuringiensis and 40 mM tannic acid were 83.9, 89.4 and 66.8% compare with 61.8, 80.4 and 47.3% as only B. thuringiensis treatment, respectively.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.344-349
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• 1995

To isolate naturally occurring novel Bacillus thuringiensis strains for useful pest con시 agents, A total of 64 isolates of B. thuringiensis producing spore and crystal were obtained from 583 soil samples in Korea. Toxicity of isolates was assayed against Lepidoptera (Bombyx ori), Diptera (Culex pipens) and Coleoptera (Sitophilus oryzae), respectively. The results showed that B. thuringiensis isolates toxic Lepidoptera are 42.2% , both Lepidoptera and Diptera are 31.3% and Diptera are 20.3%, demonstrating that spectrum of insecticidal activity of B. thuringiensis isolates is various. But no B. thuringiensis isolates have toxicity against Coleoptera.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.417-425
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• 2019

Biocontrol agents (BCAs) are widely used to protect plants from diverse biotic and abiotic stresses in agricultural and ecological fields. Among the various microbes, many subspecies of the gram-positive genus, Bacillus, have been successfully industrialized as eco-friendly biological pesticides and fertilizers. In the current study, we demonstrated that Bacillus thuringiensis C25 exhibited antagonistic effects on the mycelial growth of Rosellinia necatrix, a fungal phytopathogen. Scanning electron microscopy analysis revealed that B. thuringiensis C25 degraded the cell wall structures of R. necatrix mycelia. In the functional genomic analysis of B. thuringiensis C25, we annotated 5,683 genes and selected the gene sets that potentially encoded fungal cell wall degrading enzymes (CWDEs). The growth inhibition effects on R. necatrix were highly correlated with the transcriptional activity of the mycelial cell wall degrading genes of B. thuringiensis C25. The transcript levels of CWDEs, including CshiA, B, and Glycos_transf_2 genes in B. thuringiensis C25, were enhanced following co-cultivation with R. necatrix. In conclusion, our study suggested that B. thuringiensis C25 could serve as a suitable candidate for controlling R. necatrix and could facilitate elucidating the mechanisms underlying the antifungal activities of BCAs against phytopathogens.

• Journal of Sericultural and Entomological Science
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.57-61
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• 1995

In order to isolate naturally occuring novel B. thuringensis strains, we identified the distribution of B. thuringiensis from soils of sericultural farms(spring and autumn season, respectively) of various regions in Korea. A total of 82 strains of B. thuringiensis producing spore and crystal were isolated. We examined oral toxicity against lepidopterous larvae, Bombyx mori, dipterous larvae, Culex pipiens and coleopterous, Sitophilus oryzae. The results showed that 82 B. thuringiensis isolates from sericultural farms were isolated and most isolates were toxic to lepidopterous larvae. Particularly, B. thuringiensis strains which is lepidopterous-active, lepidopterous-and dipterous-active were widely distributed. Also, non-toxic B. thuringiensis isolate was common.

• The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.201-209
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• 2007

Characteristics of the 5 biopesticides that included Bacillus thuringiensis and on the domestic markets were investigated. These products were contained different strains of B. thuringiensis, for examples; product A and E was B. thuringiensis subsp aizawai; product B was B. thuringiensis; product C was B. thuringiensis Berline var. kurstaki; product D was B. thuringiensis var. kurstaki. Number of active spores were counted because they could influence the bio-activity against target pests. Only product C are contained the fixed quantity as its label, however, product D and E were a tenth part, and product A and B were a hundredth part of their descriptions. The pHs of product A and B were measured 3.67 and 3.73, and C, D and E were 5, respectively. Typical bypyramidal crystals produced from B. thuringiensis was found in only product C under a phase contrast microscope. For the uniform formulation of products that conformed whether B. thuringiensis were equally spreaded on the crops, B. thuringiensis in the C, D and E were equally grown on the nutrient agar medium As a results, product A were more different from product C than any other products. When product A and C were bioassayed against different larval stages of diamondback moth, their mortalities with spraying application were showed 100% after 48 hours.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.315-319
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• 1985

Delta-endotoxin crystals of B. thuringiensis var. kurstari and B. thuringiensis var. israelensis were purified by NaBr density gradient centrifigation and the wet weight of the BTK endotoxin was approximately 23.79％ of the cell wet weight and that of BTI was 25％. The shape of BTK crystal was bipyramidal, whose size was 1.7${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$ $\times$ 0.9${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$ and that of BTI was a spheroid, whose size was about 1.6$\times$0.45${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$. The molecular weight of BTK crystal protein was approximately 134,000 daltons and that of BTI was about 128,000 daltons.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.8
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• pp.1449-1456
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• 2017

The prevalence and toxin characteristics of Bacillus thuringiensis isolated from 39 organic vegetables were investigated. B. thuringiensis was detected in 30 out of the 39 organic vegetables (76.9%) with a mean value of 2.60 log CFU/g. Twenty-five out of the 30 B. thuringiensis isolates (83.3%) showed insecticidal toxicity against Spodoptera exigua. The hblCDA, nheABC, and entFM genes were found to be the major toxin genes, but the ces gene was not detected in any of the tested B. thuringiensis isolates. The hemolysin BL enterotoxin was detected in all 30 B. thuringiensis isolates (100%). The non-hemolytic enterotoxin complex was found in 27 out of 30 B. thuringiensis isolates (90.0%). The B. thuringiensis tested in this study had similar toxin gene characteristics to B. cereus, which possessed more than one toxin gene. B. thuringiensis could have the potential risk of foodborne illness based on the toxin genes and toxin-producing ability.

• Journal of Sericultural and Entomological Science
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.154-159
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• 1996

To isolate Bacillus thuringiensis toxic to Spodoptera species, we collected soil samples in Korea. In these samples, we characterized 7 B. thuringiensis isolates toxic to spodoptera exigua or S. litura from soil, granary and sericultural farm samples. The 7 isolates were named B. thuringiensis STB-1, STB-2, STB-3, STB-4, STB-5, STB-6 and STB-7, respectively. The bioassay of these isolates against S. exigua and S. litura showed highly insecticidal activity. The serotypes of them were determined by agglutination tests using 33 antisera ; STB-1 an STB-2 are identical to B. thuringiensis subsp. kurastaki, and STB-3, STB-4 and STB-5 are identical to subsp. kenyae. STB-6 and STB-7 did not react with 33 antisera. STB-1 and STB-3 which have different gene types from B. thuringiensis subsp. kurastaki and subsp. kenyae are identified new isolates. STB-6 and STB-7 which show no agglutination in serological tests havd cryIA(a), cryIA(b), cryIC, and cryII genes are also identified new isolates. Molecular weights of parasporal inclusions of all isolates were determined approximately 130 kDa by SDS-polyacrylamide gel elctrophoresis.