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Mosquitocidal Bacillus thuringiensis from Nigerian soils

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Abstract

Out of 85 Bacillus thuringiensis strains isolated from Nigerian soils, 18 were larvicidal to Aedes aegypti, Culex quinquefasciatus and Anopheles gambiae. At 10−6 dilution of the final whole culture (FWC), the 11 most active strains, code-named GSC1, GSC3, GNA13, GNA14, OGL8, BUS4, BUS5, OBG1, OBG4, OBG8 and BAR3 produced mortality of 11.7–61.7% and 3.3–48.3% in Ae. aegypti and in C. quinquefasciatus fourth instars respectively. At 0.5 × 10−5 dilution of the FWC, the B.t. strains caused mortality in An. gambiae larvae ranging from 31.7 to 94.1%. All the 18 mosquitocidal isolates belonged to the subspecies israelensis, i.e. serotype 14. Microscopic examination revealed all the isolates to be typically Bacillus, with irregular or amorphous crystals of varying sizes.

Résumé

Sur 85 souches de Bacillus thuringiensis isolées des sols nigérians, 18 d’entre elles ont montré un pouvoir larvicide chez Aedes aegypti, Cidex quinquefasciatus et Anopheles gambiae. A une dilution de 10−6de la culture pure, 11 souches les plus virulentes, codées GSC1, GSC3, GNA13, GNA14, OGL8, BUS4, BUS5, OBG1, OBG4, OBG8, et BAR3 ont provoqué au niveau des 4me stades larvaires, une mortalité de 11,7% à 61,7% chez Ae. aegypti, et de 3,3% à 48,3% chez C. quinquefasciatus. A une dilution de 0,5xl0-5 de la culture pure, les souches B. thuringiensis ont induit une mortalité allant de 31,7% à 94,1% chez les larves de An. gambiae. Tous les 18 isolats appartenaient à la sous-espèce B.t. israelensis c’est-à-dire au sérotype 14. Les examens microscopiques ont révélé que tous les isolats étaient du groupe Bacillus typique, avec des cristaux irréguliers ou amorphes de tailles variées.

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  1. Department of Microbiology, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria

    Jason A. N. Obeta

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Obeta, J.A.N. Mosquitocidal Bacillus thuringiensis from Nigerian soils. Int J Trop Insect Sci 18, 235–240 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1017/S1742758400023468

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