Highly pathogenic strains of Bacillus sphaericus produce the mosquitocidal Bin proteins, but resistance to this toxin can be produced under laboratory and field conditions. Analysis of strains able to overcome this resistance revealed the presence of a previously undescribed type of two-component toxin. One subunit, Cry48Aa1, is related to the 3-domain crystal toxins of Bacillus thuringiensis. ...

At present almost all the pectinolytic enzymes used for industrial applications are produced by fungi. There are a few reports of pectinase production by bacterial strains. Therefore, in the present study, seventy-four bacterial strains, isolated from soil and rotten vegetable samples, were screened for polygalacturonase production. The strain PG-31, which gave maximum activity, was identified ...

The production of the vegetative mosquitocidal toxin Mtx1 from Bacillus sphaericus was redirected to the sporulation phase by replacement of its weak, native promoter with the strong sporulation promoter of the bin genes. Recombinant bacilli developed toxicity during early sporulation, but this declined rapidly in later stages, indicating the proteolytic instability of the toxin. Inhibition stu...

The phosphotransferase system (PTS) is involved in the use of carbon sources in bacteria. Bacillus sphaericus, a bacterium with the ability to produce insecticidal proteins, is unable to use hexoses and pentoses as the sole carbon source, but it has ptsHI genes encoding the two general proteins of the PTS: enzyme I (EI) and the histidine phosphocarrier (HPr). In this work, we describe the bioph...

Self-healing concrete holds promising benefits to reduce the cost for concrete maintenance and repair as cracks are autonomously repaired without any human intervention. In this study, the application of a carbonate precipitating bacterium Bacillus sphaericus was explored. Regarding the harsh condition in concrete, B. sphaericus spores were first encapsulated into a modified-alginate based hydr...

Simultaneously with a control of breeding sites primarily for Culex quinquefasciatus and secondarily for anophelines with Bacillus sphaericus in the town of Maroua (120,000 inhabitants) in North Cameroon, a survey of anopheline populations and of transmission rates of malaria was performed. Monthly night catches in 8 districts of the town emphasized the relation between the biting rate by Anoph...