Journal
TRENDS IN MICROBIOLOGY
Volume 23, Issue 6, Pages 341-346Publisher
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.tim.2015.02.011
Keywords
Bacillus thuringiensis; ecology; nematodes; host
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Funding
- National High Technology Research and Development Program (863) of China [2011AA10A203]
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [31171901, 30970037]
- China 948 Program of Ministry of Agriculture [2011-G25]
- Fundamental Research Fund for the Central University [2011PY056]
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Bacillus thuringiensis, which is well known as an entomopathogen, has been accepted by the public as a safe bioinsecticide. The natural ecology of this bacterium has never been particularly clear, with views ranging from it being an obligate pathogen to an opportunist pathogen that can otherwise exist as a soil saprophyte or a plant endophyte. This confusion has recently led to it being considered as an environmental pathogen that has evolved to occupy a diverse set of environmental niches in which it can thrive without needing a host. A significant driving force behind this classification is the fact that B. thuringiensis is found in high numbers in environments that are not occupied by the insect hosts to which it is pathogenic. It is our opinion that the ubiquitous presence of this bacterium in the environment is the result of a variety of vectoring systems, particularly those that include nematodes.
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