An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect and quantitate the parasporal crystal toxins of Bacillus thuringiensis subspp. kurstaki and israelensis. The assay method described is extremely sensitive, accurate, and highly specific. With this technique, crystalline insecticidal proteins from several subspecies of B. thuringiensis were compared. The dipteran crystal toxin produced by B...

Two morphological types of Bacillus popilliae, causal agent of the milky disease, have been isolated from taro beetles (Papuana spp, Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). B. popilliae from P. woodlarkiana woodlarkiana (Papua New Guinea) was a type A1 with a small sporangium (4.1 x 1.6 microm) and a large spore (2.1 x 1.4 microm) and parasporal body (1.8 x 1.2 microm) that sometimes overlap. B. popilliae f...

The strain 273 B, the type strain of a H serotype of Bacillus thuringiensis not yet characterized: B. thuringiensis subsp. cameroun, serotype H32, was isolated from soil samples collected in Cameroon. This strain produces cuboidal parasporal bodies composed of two major proteins of 53 kDa and 35 kDa. N-terminal sequences of the major proteins share no homology with published sequences. Only the...

A defined medium is described in which 18 strains of Bacillus thuringiensis representing the 12 established serotypes grow, sporulate, and produce a parasporal crystal. This minimal medium contains glucose and salts supplemented with either aspartate, glutamate, or citrate. These organic acids are required and cannot be replaced by vitamin mixtures or succinate even though succinate is taken up...