Occurrence and diversity of mosquitocidal strains of Bacillus thuringiensis

Abstract

Ever since the discovery of the first Bacillus thuringiensis strain capable of killing mosquito larvae, namely, B. thuringiensis var israelensis, there are several reports from different parts of the world about the occurrence of mosquitocidal strains belonging to different subspecies/serotypes numbering thirty-six. The main sources of these wild type strains are soils/sediments, plants, animal feces, sick/moribund insects and waters. The toxicity of the strains within a subspecies/serotype varied widely. Some of the strains exhibited toxicity to mosquitoes as well as lepidopterans and dipterans (including mosquitoes) as well as plant parasitic nematodes.