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Biopolymer microencapsulations of Bacillus thuringiensis crystal preparations for increased stability and resistance to environmental stress

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Abstract

Parasporal crystals synthesized by Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) have been widely used as microbial pesticides because of their toxicity to the larval stages of specific insects. However, parasporal crystals can be damaged by environmental stresses, such as high temperature, ultraviolet radiation, and desiccation. To reduce environmental susceptibility of parasporal crystals and extend the duration of their activity, we developed a new type of protection by making microcapsules of crystals (MCs). The microcapsules were self-assembled by alternate deposition (layer by layer) of low-cost chitosan and sodium alginate (or sodium carboxymethyl cellulose) on the crystal surface. Crystal toxins (Cry1Ac) were released from microcapsules at pH values above 9.0. Bioassay results demonstrated that microencapsulated preparations had larvicidal toxicity equivalent to the non-encapsulated form. Microencapsuled crystals were protected from environmental stresses such as high temperature and desiccation. The results indicate that microcapsule protection can enhance the efficacy of Bt in pest control, especially to Lepidoptera larvae that have a alkaline midgut.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (no. 31540088). The authors thank Dr. Didier Lereclus and Dr. Christina Nielsen-LeRoux from the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique for their critical suggestions to the manuscript. We also appreciate the help provided by Dr. Fengshou Dong on sunlight inactivation experiments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China

    Xiaolin He, Zhongqin Sun & Shuyuan Guo

  2. State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China

    Kanglai He

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  1. Xiaolin He
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Correspondence to Kanglai He or Shuyuan Guo.

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The manuscript does not contain experiments using mammals and does not contain studies on humans.

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The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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Xiaolin He and Zhongqin Sun made equal contributions

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He, X., Sun, Z., He, K. et al. Biopolymer microencapsulations of Bacillus thuringiensis crystal preparations for increased stability and resistance to environmental stress. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 101, 2779–2789 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-016-8070-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-016-8070-y

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