Improvement of bioinsecticides production by sporeless Bacillus thuringiensis strains in response to various stresses in low cost medium

Abstract

The use of bioinsecticides, particularly those produced by sporeless Bacillus thuringiensis strains, has been shown to be a good alternative in pest management. Two types of sporeless mutants were distinguished. The asporogenic mutants which completely lack spores produce a regular bipyramidal crystal inclusion. The oligosporogenic mutants kept the ability to produce insecticidal crystal proteins. However, sporulation in such mutants was not totally blocked and very few of them could still produce spores. In order to improve bioinsecticides production, adaptation of sporeless strains to heat shock and osmotic stress was investigated. Delta-endotoxin production by 78% of sporeless mutants was significantly improved by osmotic stress with an overproduction of about 17%, compared to the wild strain BNS3. However, toxin production was improved by only 21% of mutants after heat shock, in low cost medium. The statistical analysis proved that delta-endotoxin production, cell growth, and spore formation of asporogenic and oligosporogenic mutants depended on the type of applied stress. Each strain has an important potential when applying the adequate stress. Moreover, adaptation of sporeless mutants to NaCl may allow the substitution of all minerals of the medium by diluted sea water which appeared to be a good alternative for the economic production of bioinsecticides at industrial scale which is of great importance from the practical point of view.