Edit page | Page history | Printable version

Bacillus thuringiensis

(Science: bacteria) soil living bacterium that produces an endotoxin that is deadly to insects. Many strains exist, each with great specificity as to target orders of insects.

in general, the mode of action involves solubilisation at the high ph within the target insects gut, followed by proteolytic cleavage, the activated peptides form pores in the gut cell apical plasma membranes, causing lysis of the cells.