Diversity and distribution of cry genes in native Bacillus thuringiensis strains isolated from wild ecological areas of East-Mediterranean region of Turkey

摘要

Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) crystal (Cry) proteins have specific insecticidal activity against insect pests and extensively used in biological control applications worldwide. In the present study, native Bt strains were screened for frequency and distribution profile of their cry genes encoding Cry proteins toxic to insect pests. A total of 120 strains from 80 different ecological locations with altitudes ranging from 0 to 1600 m were used to investigate cry gene contents. cry1Ab/Ac (47.72%), cry1Aa/Ad (35.50%), cry2 (31.82%), cry5 (28.41%), and cry9C (27.27%) were among the most abundant genes in strains. Frequency of cry1C, cry1Ad, cry1Ac, cry1D, cry1B, cry3-7-8, cry4A, cry9A, and cry11A/B were, respectively, estimated as 20.68, 5.75, 2.27, 2.27, 5.68, 4.55, 1.14, 4.55, and 7.95%. Results provide useful information with regard to analyzed cry gene prevalence of Bt strains in the region.