Effective bacterial insecticidal proteins against coleopteran pests: A review

Enterobacter Strain IPPBiotE33 Displays a Synergistic Effect with Bacillus thuringiensis Bt185

The discovery and isolation of new non-Bt insecticidal bacteria and genes are significant for the development of new biopesticides against coleopteran pests. In this study, we evaluated the insecticidal activity of non-Bt insecticidal bacteria, PPBiotE33, IPPBiotC41, IPPBiotA42 and IPPBiotC43, isolated from the peanut rhizosphere. All these strains showed insecticidal activity against first- and third-instar larvae of Holotrichia parallela, Holotrichia oblita, Anomala corpulenta and Potosia brevitarsis. IPPBiotE33 showed the highest toxicity among the four strains and exhibited virulence against Colaphellus bowringi. The genome of IPPBiotE33 was sequenced, and a new protein, 03673, with growth inhibition effects on C. bowringi was obtained. In addition, IPPBiotE33 had a synergistic effect with Bacillus thuringiensis Bt185 against H. parallela in bioassays and back-inoculation experiments with peanut seedlings. IPPBiotE33 induced a decrease in hemocytes and an increase in phenol oxidase activity in H. parallela hemolymph, known as the immunosuppressive effect, which mediated synergistic activity with Bt185. This study increased our knowledge of the new insecticidal strain IPPBiotE33 and shed new light on the research on new insecticidal coaction mechanisms and new blended pesticides.

Development of an Online Genome Sequence Comparison Resource for Bacillus cereus sensu lato Strains Using the Efficient Composition Vector Method

An automated method was developed for differentiating closely related B. cereus sensu lato (s.l.) species, especially biopesticide Bacillus thuringiensis, from other human pathogens, B. anthracis and B. cereus sensu stricto (s.s.). In the current research, four typing methods were initially compared, including multi-locus sequence typing (MLST), single-copy core genes phylogenetic analysis (SCCGPA), dispensable genes content pattern analysis (DGCPA) and composition vector tree (CVTree), to analyze the genomic variability of 23 B. thuringiensis strains from aizawai, kurstaki, israelensis, thuringiensis and morrisoni serovars. The CVTree method was the best option to be used for typing B. thuringiensis strains since it proved to be the fastest method, whilst giving high-resolution data about the strains. In addition, CVTree agrees well with ANI-based method, revealing the relationship between B. thuringiensis and other B. cereus s.l. species. Based on these data, an online genome sequence comparison resource was built for Bacillus strains called the Bacillus Typing Bioinformatics Database to facilitate strain identification and characterization.

Chromobacterium Csp_P biopesticide is toxic to larvae of three Diabrotica species including strains resistant to Bacillus thuringiensis

The development of new biopesticides to control the western corn rootworm (WCR), Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte, is urgent due to resistance evolution to various control methods. We tested an air-dried non-live preparation of Chromobacterium species Panama (Csp_P), against multiple corn rootworm species, including Bt-resistant and -susceptible WCR strains, northern (NCR, D. barberi Smith & Lawrence), and southern corn rootworm (SCR, D. undecimpunctata howardi Barber), in diet toxicity assays. Our results documented that Csp_P was toxic to all three corn rootworms species based on lethal (LC₅₀), effective (EC₅₀), and molt inhibition concentration (MIC₅₀). In general, toxicity of Csp_P was similar among all WCR strains and ~ 3-fold less toxic to NCR and SCR strains. Effective concentration (EC₅₀) was also similar among WCR and SCR strains, and 5-7-fold higher in NCR strains. Molt inhibition (MIC₅₀) was similar among all corn rootworm strains except NCR diapause strain that was 2.5-6-fold higher when compared to all other strains. There was no apparent cross-resistance between Csp_P and any of the currently available Bt proteins. Our results indicate that Csp_P formulation was effective at killing multiple corn rootworm strains including Bt-resistant WCR and could be developed as a potential new management tool for WCR control.

Phylogenetic Separation of Holotrichia Species (Insecta, Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae) Exhibiting Circadian Rhythm and Circa'bi'dian Rhythm

A unique two-day rhythm, circabidian rhythm, has been reported in the black chafer, Holotrichia parallela. However, it remains unknown how widely the circabidian rhythm appears in related species. We examined the activity rhythm and phylogeny of congeneric species inhabiting Japan to investigate the appearance of circabidian rhythms in a few subgenera of the genus Holotrichia. We found that Holotrichia picea also exhibited circabidian rhythm. In addition to the regular circabidian pattern, circabidian rhythms with day-switching or with a circadian activity component were also observed. In the day-switching pattern, H. picea switched appearance from odd to even days, or vice versa. In the circadian-like activity patterns, a major night activity and a minor dusk activity appeared alternately. Holotrichia kiotonensis, Holotrichia convexopyga, and Holotrichia loochooana loochooana exhibited a circadian rhythm. Two distinct clades, A and B, were recognized in the histone H3, cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1, and 16S ribosomal RNA phylogenetic trees. This phylogenetic separation was in accordance with the subgeneric classification based on external morphology in a previous study and with behavioral rhythm in the present study: clade A included Nigrotrichia group members, H. kiotonensis, H. convexopyga, H. loochooana loochooana, and H. loochooana okinawana, while clade B included Pedinotrichia group members, H. paralella and H. picea. We suggest that after separation into Nigrotrichia and Pedinotrichia, the behavioral trait of circabidian rhythm probably appeared once in an ancestral species of the Pedinotrichia group, including H. parallela and H. picea.

Whole genome analysis and functional characterization of a novel Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt 62) isolate against sugarcane white grub Holotrichia serrata (F)

In this study, we report the whole genome assembly of Bt 62, a novel isolate harbouring cry8 holotype gene identified by us earlier. Sequencing was carried out using a combination of Illumina NextSeq 500 and Oxford Nanopore sequencing Technologies (ONT). The final assembled genome was 6.13 Mb comprising a circular chromosome and four plasmids. The bioassay studies against Holotrichia serrata (F.) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), a polyphagous pest infesting sugarcane and other crops, indicated significant toxicity to first instar grubs over untreated larvae achieving a highest mean mortality of 91.11% for various doses tested. In vitro proteolytic assay and histopathological studies of the midgut of infected white grubs revealed proteolytic processing of the protoxin and extensive degeneration of larval midgut epithelial cells. The results demonstrate that this novel isolate could be used as a biopesticide or its crystal toxin genes could be expressed in sugarcane and other crops for resistance against H. serrata.

Characterization of Two Novel Bacillus thuringiensis Cry8 Toxins Reveal Differential Specificity of Protoxins or Activated Toxins against Chrysomeloidea Coleopteran Superfamily

Scarabaeoidea and Chrysomeloidea insects are agriculture-destructive coleopteran pests. Few effective Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) insecticidal proteins against these species have been described. Bt isolate BtSU4 was found to be active against coleopteran insects. Genome sequencing revealed two new cry8 genes in BtSU4, designated as cry8Ha1 and cry8Ia1. Both genes expressed a 135 kDa protoxin forming irregular shape crystals. Bioassays performed with Cry8Ha1 protoxin showed that it was toxic to both larvae and adult stages of Holotrichia parallela, also to Holotrichia oblita adults and to Anoplophora glabripennis larvae, but was not toxic to larval stages of H. oblita or Colaphellus bowringi. The Cry8Ia1 protoxin only showed toxicity against H. parallela larvae. After activation with chymotrypsin, the Cry8Ha1 activated toxin lost its insecticidal activity against H. oblita adults and reduced its activity on H. parallela adults, but gained toxicity against C. bowringi larvae, a Chrysomeloidea insect pest that feeds on crucifer crops. The chymotrypsin activated Cry8Ia1 toxin did not show toxicity to any one of these insects. These data show that Cry8Ha1 and Cry8Ia1 protoxin and activated toxin proteins have differential toxicity to diverse coleopteran species, and that protoxin is a more robust protein for the control of coleopteran insects.