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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, December 2008, p. 7219-7226, Vol. 74, No. 23
0099-2240/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.00977-08
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Cloning and Heterologous Expression of Insecticidal-Protein-Encoding Genes from Photorhabdus luminescens TT01 in Enterobacter cloacae for Termite Control{triangledown}

Ruihua Zhao,1,3 Richou Han,2* Xuehong Qiu,2 Xun Yan,2 Li Cao,2 and Xiuling Liu2

South China Botanical Garden of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China,1 Guangdong Entomological Institute, Guangzhou 510260, China,2 Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039, China3

Received 29 April 2008/ Accepted 22 September 2008

Enterobacter cloacae, one of the indigenous gut bacteria of the Formosan subterranean termite (Coptotermes formosanus), was genetically modified with a transposon Tn5 vector containing genes (tcdA1 and tcdB1) encoding orally insecticidal proteins from the entomopathogenic bacterium Photorhabdus luminescens subsp. laumondii TT01, a symbiont of the entomopathogenic nematode Heterorhabditis bacteriophora, for termite control. In the laboratory, termites were fed filter paper inoculated with the recombinant bacteria. The chromosomal expression of the introduced genes showed that there were insecticidal activities against termite workers and soldiers challenged with the transformed bacteria. After termites were fed recombinant bacteria, the termite mortality was 3.3% at day 5, and it increased from 8.7% at day 9 to 93.3% at day 29. All the dead termites contained the recombinant bacteria in their guts. Transfer of the recombinant bacteria occurred between donor workers (initially fed recombinant bacteria) and recipient workers (not fed). More than 20% of the recipient termites ingested recombinant bacteria within 2 h, and 73.3% of them had ingested recombinant bacteria after 12 h. The method described here provides a useful alternative for sustainable control of the Formosan subterranean termite (C. formosanus) and other social insects, such as the imported red fire ant (Solenopsis invicta).

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Guangdong Entomological Institute, Guangzhou 510260, China. Phone: 86-20-84191089. Fax: 86-20-84191089. E-mail: richou-han{at}163.net

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 3 October 2008.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, December 2008, p. 7219-7226, Vol. 74, No. 23
0099-2240/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.00977-08
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





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