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Potential gene exchange between Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki and Bacillus spp. in soil in situ
The possible transfer of genes from Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki ( Btk) to indigenous Bacillus spp. was investigated in soil samples from stands of cork oak in Orotelli (Sardinia, Italy) collected 5 years after spraying of the stands with a commercial insecticidal preparation (FORAY 48B) o...
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Published in: | Soil biology & biochemistry 2010-08, Vol.42 (8), p.1329-1337 |
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Main Authors: | , , , , |
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Subjects: | |
Citations: | Items that this one cites Items that cite this one |
Online Access: | Get full text |
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Summary: | The possible transfer of genes from
Bacillus thuringiensis subsp.
kurstaki (
Btk) to indigenous
Bacillus spp. was investigated in soil samples from stands of cork oak in Orotelli (Sardinia, Italy) collected 5 years after spraying of the stands with a commercial insecticidal preparation (FORAY 48B) of
Btk. Two colonies with a morphology different from that of
Btk were isolated and identified as
Bacillus mycoides by morphological and physiological characteristics and by 16S rDNA analysis. Amplification by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of the DNA of the two isolated
B. mycoides colonies with primers used for the identification of the
Btk cry genes showed the presence of a fragment of 238 bp of the
cry1Ab9 gene that had a similarity of 100% with the sequence of the
cry1Ab9 gene present in GenBank, indicating that the isolates of
B. mycoides acquired part of the sequence of this gene from
Btk. No cells of
Btk or
B. mycoides carrying the 238-bp fragment of the
cry1Ab9 gene were isolated from samples of unsprayed control soil. However, the isolates of
B. mycoides were not able to express the partial Cry1Ab protein. Hybridization with probes for IS
231 and the
cry1Ab9 gene suggested that the inverted repeated sequence, IS
231, was probably involved in the transfer of the 238-bp fragment from
Btk to
B. mycoides. These results indicate that transfer of genes between introduced
Btk and indigenous
Bacillus spp. can occur in soil under field conditions. |
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ISSN: | 0038-0717 1879-3428 |
DOI: | 10.1016/j.soilbio.2010.03.014 |