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Distribution and Genetic Diversity of Genes from Brazilian Bacillus thuringiensis Strains Toxic to Agricultural Insect Pests Revealed by Real-Time PCR

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Abstract

Bacillus thuringiensis is a Gram-positive aerobic bacterium and the most used biopesticide worldwide. Given the importance of B. thuringiensis strain characterization for the development of new bioinsecticides or transgenic events and the identification and classification of new B. thuringiensis genes and strains to understand its distribution and diversity, this work is aimed at creating a gene identification system based on qPCR reactions utilizing core B. thuringiensis genes cry1, cry2, cry3, cry4, cry5, app6, cry7, cry8, cry9, cry10, cry11, vpb1, vpa2, vip3, cyt1, and cyt2 for the characterization of 257 strains of B. thuringiensis. This system was based on the Invertebrate Bacteria Collection from Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology and analyzed (a) the degree of correlation between the distribution of these strains and the origin of the substrate from which the strain was isolated and (b) between its distribution and geoclimatic conditions. This study made it possible to observe that the cry1, cry2, and vip3A/B genes occur homogeneously in the Brazilian territory, and some genes are found in specific regions. The biggest reservoir of variability is within B. thuringiensis strains in each region, and it is suggested that both geoclimatic conditions and regional crops interfere with the genetic diversity of the B. thuringiensis strains present in the region, and B. thuringiensis strains can constantly exchange genetic information.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed' during the current study are available from the corresponding author on request.

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Funding

This study was funded by CAPES (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior) and Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Entompathogenic Bacteria Laboratory, Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology, Parque Estação Biológica, PqEB, Av. W5 Norte (Final) Caixa Postal 02372, Brasília, DF–CEP, 70770-917, Brazil

    Marcelo Rodrigues Berçot, Gabriela Teodoro Rocha & Rose Gomes Monnerat

  2. University Center of Brasilia (CEUB), 707/907 - Campus Universitário - Asa Norte, Brasília, DF, 70790-075, Brazil

    Paulo Roberto Martins Queiroz

  3. Bioinformatics Laboratory, Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology, Parque Estação Biológica, PqEB, Av. W5 Norte (Final) Caixa Postal 02372, Brasília, DF–CEP, 70770-917, Brazil

    Priscila Grynberg & Roberto Togawa

  4. Distrito Federal State Department of Education (SEEDF), SBN Quadra 02 Bloco C, Edifício Phenícia, CEP: 70040-020, Brazil

    Érica Soares Martins

Authors
  1. Marcelo Rodrigues Berçot
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  2. Paulo Roberto Martins Queiroz
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  3. Priscila Grynberg
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  4. Roberto Togawa
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  5. Érica Soares Martins
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  6. Gabriela Teodoro Rocha
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  7. Rose Gomes Monnerat
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. The experiments were conducted by Marcelo Rodrigues Berçot and Gabriela Teodoro Rocha. Rose Gomes Monnerat was responsible for funding acquisition, project supervision, and management. Paulo Roberto Martins Queiroz and Érica Soares Martins were responsible for conceptualization and writing—review. The bioinformatic data were analyzed by Priscila Grynberg and Roberto Togawa. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Marcelo Rodrigues Berçot, and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Paulo Roberto Martins Queiroz.

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Berçot, M.R., Queiroz, P.R.M., Grynberg, P. et al. Distribution and Genetic Diversity of Genes from Brazilian Bacillus thuringiensis Strains Toxic to Agricultural Insect Pests Revealed by Real-Time PCR. Microb Ecol 86, 2515–2526 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-023-02255-1

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