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Persistence and Recycling of Bioinsecticidal Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis Spores in Contrasting Environments: Evidence from Field Monitoring and Laboratory Experiments

  • Environmental Microbiology
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Abstract

Sprays of commercial preparations of the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis are widely used for the control of mosquito larvae. Despite an abundant literature on B. thuringiensis subsp. israelensis field efficiency on mosquito control, few studies have evaluated the fate of spores in the environment after treatments. In the present article, two complementary experiments were conducted to study the effect of different parameters on B. thuringiensis subsp. israelensis persistence and recycling, in field conditions and in the laboratory. First, we monitored B. thuringiensis subsp. israelensis persistence in the field in two contrasting regions in France: the Rhône-Alpes region, where mosquito breeding sites are temporary ponds under forest cover with large amounts of decaying leaf matter on the ground and the Mediterranean region characterized by open breeding sites such as brackish marshes. Viable B. thuringiensis subsp. israelensis spores can persist for months after a treatment, and their quantity is explained both by the vegetation type and by the number of local treatments. We found no evidence of B. thuringiensis subsp. israelensis recycling in the field. Then, we tested the effect of water level, substrate type, salinity and presence of mosquito larvae on the persistence/recycling of B. thuringiensis subsp. israelensis spores in controlled laboratory conditions (microcosms). We found no effect of change in water level or salinity on B. thuringiensis subsp. israelensis persistence over time (75 days). B. thuringiensis subsp. israelensis spores tended to persist longer in substrates containing organic matter compared to sand-only substrates. B. thuringiensis subsp. israelensis recycling only occurred in presence of mosquito larvae but was unrelated to the presence of organic matter.

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Acknowledgments

This work was founded by the French National Research Agency (ANR, project ANR-08-CES-006-01 DIBBECO). We thank R. Foussadier, S. Reynaud, S. Veyrenc, A. Bonin, E. Coissac and C. Melodelima (members of the DIBBECO Consortium) for helpful discussions on the B. thuringiensis subsp. israelensis persistence part of the DIBBECO project, C. Nielsen-LeRoux for providing the rabbit antiserum specific for H14 serotype, S. Perigon and M. Fabris for technical help, and G. Moraru for correcting our English.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Entente Interdépartementale de Démoustication du Littoral Méditerranéen, 165 avenue Paul-Rimbaud, 34184, Montpellier, Cedex 4, France

    Claire Duchet, Albane Marie, Yvon Perrin & Christophe Lagneau

  2. Laboratoire d’Ecologie Alpine, LECA-UMR 5553, Université de Grenoble 1, BP 53, 38041, Grenoble, Cedex 09, France

    Guillaume Tetreau, Margot Paris & Laurence Després

  3. Entente Interdépartementale Rhône-Alpes pour la Démoustication, BP n2, 73310, Chindrieux, France

    Delphine Rey & Gilles Besnard

  4. Laboratoire d’Ecologie Alpine, LECA-UMR 5553, CNRS, BP 53, 38041, Grenoble, Cedex 09, France

    Jean-Philippe David

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  1. Claire Duchet
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  2. Guillaume Tetreau
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  3. Albane Marie
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  4. Delphine Rey
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  7. Margot Paris
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  8. Jean-Philippe David
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  9. Christophe Lagneau
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  10. Laurence Després
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Correspondence to Laurence Després.

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Claire Duchet and Guillaume Tetreau contributed equally to the work.

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Duchet, C., Tetreau, G., Marie, A. et al. Persistence and Recycling of Bioinsecticidal Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis Spores in Contrasting Environments: Evidence from Field Monitoring and Laboratory Experiments. Microb Ecol 67, 576–586 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-013-0360-7

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