This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by de Oliveira, E. J.
Right arrow Articles by Zahner, V.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by de Oliveira, E. J.
Right arrow Articles by Zahner, V.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by de Oliveira, E. J.
Right arrow Articles by Zahner, V.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, November 2004, p. 6657-6664, Vol. 70, No. 11
0099-2240/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.70.11.6657-6664.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Molecular Characterization of Brevibacillus laterosporus and Its Potential Use in Biological Control

Edmar Justo de Oliveira,1 Leon Rabinovitch,1 Rose Gomes Monnerat,2 Liana Konovaloff Jannotti Passos,3 and Viviane Zahner4*

Laboratory of Bacterial Physiology, Department of Bacteriology,1 Laboratory of Systematic Biochemistry, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Oswaldo Cruz Institute-Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro,4 Laboratory of Bacteriology, Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária-Cenargen, Brasília,2 Laboratory of Mollusks, Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou-Fiocruz, Belo Horizonte, Brazil3

Received 3 March 2004/ Accepted 15 June 2004

Thirty-three strains of Brevibacillus laterosporus, including three novel strains isolated from Brazilian soil samples, were examined for genetic variability by the use of different PCR-based methods. Molecular markers that could characterize bacterial strains with regards to their pathogenic potential were investigated. In addition, toxicity was assessed by the use of insects belonging to the orders Lepidoptera and Coleoptera and the mollusk Biomphalaria glabrata. Among the targets tested, Biomphalaria glabrata demonstrated the highest degree of sensitivity to B. laterosporus, with some strains inducing 90 to 100% mortality in snails aged 3 and 12 days posteclosion. Larvae of the coleopteron Anthonomus grandis were also susceptible, presenting mortality levels of between 33 and 63%. Toxicity was also noted towards the lepidopteron Anticarsia gemmatalis. In contrast, no mortality was recorded among test populations of Tenebrio molitor or Spodoptera frugiperda. The application of intergenic transcribed spacer PCR and BOX-PCR generated 15 and 17 different genotypes, respectively. None of the molecular techniques allowed the identification of a convenient marker that was associated with any entomopathogenic phenotype. However, a 1,078-bp amplicon was detected for all strains of B. laterosporus when a primer for amplification of the BOXA1R region was used. Similarly, a 900-bp amplicon was generated from all isolates by use of the primer OPA-11 for randomly amplified polymorphic DNA analysis. These amplicons were not detected for other phenotypically related Brevibacillus species, indicating that they represent markers that are specific for B. laterosporus, which may prove useful for the isolation and identification of new strains of this species.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Laboratory of Systematic Biochemistry, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Oswaldo Cruz Institute-Fiocruz, Manguinhos CEP 21045-900 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Phone: 55-2138658108. Fax: 5525903495. E-mail: vzahner{at}ioc.fiocruz.br.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, November 2004, p. 6657-6664, Vol. 70, No. 11
0099-2240/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.70.11.6657-6664.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»