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Bacillus thuringiensis Proteins: Structure, Mechanism and Biological Control of Insect Pests

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Bacilli in Agrobiotechnology

Abstract

Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) produces a wide variety of insecticidal proteins. It synthesizes δ-endotoxins as parasporal crystalline inclusion bodies during its sporulation and the stationary growth phase. It also produces vegetative insecticidal proteins that are initially given off during the bacterial vegetative growth stage. The insecticidal proteins are widely used as biopesticides either by spraying or by incorporating into transgenic crops. The application of these insecticidal proteins significantly reduced the use of synthetic chemical insecticides. It also controls the major agricultural pests with increased target specificity and environmental safety. This chapter updates the structure and specificity, insecticidal activity, mechanism of action, and application of Bt proteins for biological control of target insect pests in various crops. Furthermore, we discuss the benefits of using Bt biopesticides over chemical insecticides to promote sustainable and eco-friendly agriculture.

Authors Swapan Chakrabarty, Panchali Chakraborty contributed equally for this chapter.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Genome Analysis Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen, China

    Swapan Chakrabarty, Jin Minghui & Yutao Xiao

  2. Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (IBGE), Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Gazipur, Bangladesh

    Tofazzal Islam

  3. Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Gazipur, Bangladesh

    Panchali Chakraborty & A. K. M. Aminul Islam

  4. China National Rice Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, China

    Juel Datta

  5. Department of Chemistry, Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh

    Tuli Bhattacharjee

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  1. Swapan Chakrabarty
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  2. Panchali Chakraborty
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  3. Tofazzal Islam
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  4. A. K. M. Aminul Islam
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  5. Juel Datta
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  6. Tuli Bhattacharjee
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  7. Jin Minghui
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  8. Yutao Xiao
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Correspondence to Yutao Xiao .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (IBGE), Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Gazipur, Bangladesh

    M. Tofazzal Islam

  2. WVU Extension Service, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA

    Mahfuz Rahman

  3. Department of Microbiology, Assam University, Silchar, Assam, India

    Piyush Pandey

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Chakrabarty, S. et al. (2022). Bacillus thuringiensis Proteins: Structure, Mechanism and Biological Control of Insect Pests. In: Islam, M.T., Rahman, M., Pandey, P. (eds) Bacilli in Agrobiotechnology. Bacilli in Climate Resilient Agriculture and Bioprospecting. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85465-2_25

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