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Toxins
Special Issues
Prospective of Cry-Proteins in Application and Overcoming of Pest Resistance
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Prospective of Cry-Proteins in Application and Overcoming of Pest Resistance

A special issue of Toxins (ISSN 2072-6651). This special issue belongs to the section "Bacterial Toxins".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2023) | Viewed by 7473

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Ekaterina V. Grizanova

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agronomy, Novosibirsk State Agrarian University, 630039 Novosibirsk, Russia
Interests: Bacillus thuriniensis; host-parasite interaction; virulence factors; insect resistance mechanisms; bioinsecticides

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Bacteria Bacillus thuriniensis (Bt) is one of the most popular biological agents for pest control in the world. Bt produce a wide range of Cry-Proteins and other virulence factors against insects, mites and nematodes. Furthermore, Bt demonstrate endophytic capabilities in plants and some strains have polyfunctional properties such as insecticidal, antimicrobial and promotion of plant growing. Biotechnology could predict Bt properties, modified Cry-Proteins and use them to create transgenic crops aimed to control pest in the field. Arm race between virulence factors of Bt and insect resistance is interesting example of coevolution in the field. Overcoming of pest resistance to Bt is in the main stream in the science research. Prospective application of Cry-Proteins and overcoming of pest resistance are interesting area to highlights in this Special Edition.

This Special Issue aims to join the latest research data about diversity, activity and future application of Cry-Proteins and other virulence factors of Bt as well as mechanisms of pest resistance and ways to predict and overcome it.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following: Cry-Proteins for transgenic crops and influence of transgenic crops on the non-target organisms such as entomophagous; Cry-Proteins and other virulence factors of B. thuringiensis and methods to enhance virulence of B. thuringiensis; endophytic capabilities of B. thuringiensis in plants; polyfunctionality of Cry-Proteins for pest management and promotion of plant growing; mechanisms of pest resistance to Cry-Proteins and management of pest resistance. We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Ekaterina V. Grizanova
Guest Editor

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Bacillus thuringiensis
  • transgenic crops
  • virulence factors
  • biotechnology of Cry-Protein
  • endophytic capabilities
  • polyfunctionality of action
  • mechanisms of pest resistance
  • management of pest resistance

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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12 pages, 819 KiB  
Article
Realized Heritability, Risk Assessment, and Inheritance Pattern in Earias vittella (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Resistant to Dipel (Bacillus thuringiensis Kurstaki)
by Syed Faisal Ahmad, Asim Gulzar, Naeem Abbas, Muhammad Tariq, Intazar Ali and Abdulwahab M. Hafez
Toxins 2022, 14(10), 686; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins14100686 - 6 Oct 2022
Viewed by 2058
Abstract
Earias vittella Fabricius is a potential cotton and okra pest in South Asia. The realized heritability, risk assessment, and inheritance mode of Bacillus thuringiensis Kurstaki (Btk) resistance were determined in the Dipel-selected (DIPEL-SEL) E. vittella. The DIPEL-SEL strain had a 127.56-fold rise [...] Read more.
Earias vittella Fabricius is a potential cotton and okra pest in South Asia. The realized heritability, risk assessment, and inheritance mode of Bacillus thuringiensis Kurstaki (Btk) resistance were determined in the Dipel-selected (DIPEL-SEL) E. vittella. The DIPEL-SEL strain had a 127.56-fold rise in Dipel resistance after nine generations compared to the laboratory reference strain (LAB-PK). The overlapping of 95% fiducial limits in the median lethal concentrations (LC50s) of the F1 (DIPEL-SEL♂ × LAB-PK♀) and F1ǂ (DIPEL-SEL♀ × LAB-PK♂) suggested a lack of sex linkage and an autosomal Dipel resistance. The dominance (DLC) values for the F1 (0.86) and F1ǂ (0.94) indicated incompletely dominant resistance to Dipel. Backcrossing of the F1♀ × Lab-PK♂ revealed a polygenic response of resistance to Dipel. The realized heritability estimation (h2) of resistance to Dipel was 0.19. With 20% to 90% selection mortality, the generations required for a tenfold increase in LC50 of Dipel were 4.7–22.8, 3.1–14.9, and 2.3–11.1 at h2 of 0.19, 0.29, and 0.39, respectively, and a constant slope of 1.56. At slope values of 2.56 and 3.56 with a constant h2 = 0.19, 7.7–37.4 and 10.6–52.0 generations were needed to increase the tenfold LC50 of Dipel in the DIPEL-SEL E. vittella. It is concluded that the DIPEL-SEL E. vittella has an autosomal, incompletely dominant, and polygenic nature of resistance. The h2 of 0.19 suggested that a high proportion of phenotypic variation for the Dipel resistance in E. vittella was heritable genetic variation. The present results will support the creation of an effective and suitable resistance management plan for better control of E. vittella. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Prospective of Cry-Proteins in Application and Overcoming of Pest Resistance)
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10 pages, 7945 KiB  
Article
RNA Interference-Mediated Knockdown of Bombyx mori Haemocyte-Specific Cathepsin L (Cat L)-Like Cysteine Protease Gene Increases Bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki Toxicity and Reproduction in Insect Cadavers
by Linlin Yang, Yanyan Sun, Meiling Chang, Yun Zhang, Huili Qiao, Siliang Huang, Yunchao Kan, Lunguang Yao, Dandan Li and Camilo Ayra-Pardo
Toxins 2022, 14(6), 394; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins14060394 - 8 Jun 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2388
Abstract
The silkworm’s Cat L-like gene, which encodes a lysosomal cathepsin L-like cysteine protease, is thought to be part of the insect’s innate immunity via an as-yet-undetermined mechanism. Assuming that the primary function of Cat L-like is microbial degradation in mature phagosomes, we [...] Read more.
The silkworm’s Cat L-like gene, which encodes a lysosomal cathepsin L-like cysteine protease, is thought to be part of the insect’s innate immunity via an as-yet-undetermined mechanism. Assuming that the primary function of Cat L-like is microbial degradation in mature phagosomes, we hypothesise that the suppression of the Cat L-like gene expression would increase Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) bacteraemia and toxicity in knockdown insects. Here, we performed a functional analysis of Cat L-like in larvae that were fed mulberry leaves contaminated with a commercial biopesticide formulation based on Bt kurstaki (Btk) (i.e., Dipel) to investigate its role in insect defence against a known entomopathogen. Exposure to sublethal doses of Dipel resulted in overexpression of the Cat L-like gene in insect haemolymph 24 and 48 h after exposure. RNA interference (RNAi)-mediated suppression of Cat L-like expression significantly increased the toxicity of Dipel to exposed larvae. Moreover, Btk replication was higher in RNAi insects, suggesting that Cat L-like cathepsin may be involved in a bacterial killing mechanism of haemocytes. Finally, our results confirm that Cat L-like protease is part of the antimicrobial defence of insects and suggest that it could be used as a target to increase the insecticidal efficacy of Bt-based biopesticides. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Prospective of Cry-Proteins in Application and Overcoming of Pest Resistance)
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Review

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18 pages, 871 KiB  
Review
Recombination in Bacterial Genomes: Evolutionary Trends
by Anton E. Shikov, Iuliia A. Savina, Anton A. Nizhnikov and Kirill S. Antonets
Toxins 2023, 15(9), 568; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins15090568 - 12 Sep 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2356
Abstract
Bacterial organisms have undergone homologous recombination (HR) and horizontal gene transfer (HGT) multiple times during their history. These processes could increase fitness to new environments, cause specialization, the emergence of new species, and changes in virulence. Therefore, comprehensive knowledge of the impact and [...] Read more.
Bacterial organisms have undergone homologous recombination (HR) and horizontal gene transfer (HGT) multiple times during their history. These processes could increase fitness to new environments, cause specialization, the emergence of new species, and changes in virulence. Therefore, comprehensive knowledge of the impact and intensity of genetic exchanges and the location of recombination hotspots on the genome is necessary for understanding the dynamics of adaptation to various conditions. To this end, we aimed to characterize the functional impact and genomic context of computationally detected recombination events by analyzing genomic studies of any bacterial species, for which events have been detected in the last 30 years. Genomic loci where the transfer of DNA was detected pertained to mobile genetic elements (MGEs) housing genes that code for proteins engaged in distinct cellular processes, such as secretion systems, toxins, infection effectors, biosynthesis enzymes, etc. We found that all inferences fall into three main lifestyle categories, namely, ecological diversification, pathogenesis, and symbiosis. The latter primarily exhibits ancestral events, thus, possibly indicating that adaptation appears to be governed by similar recombination-dependent mechanisms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Prospective of Cry-Proteins in Application and Overcoming of Pest Resistance)
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