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Published on: October 6, 2017
Recombinant Enterobacter amnigenus highly toxic to Anopheles dirus mosquito larvae
P Khampang1, P Luxananil, S Tanapongpipat
1National Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Bangkok, 10400, Thailand.
Current Microbiology
|October 31, 2001
Summary
Engineered bacteria now produce a potent mosquito-larvicidal toxin. This enhanced Enterobacter amnigenus strain shows significantly higher toxicity against Anopheles dirus larvae, offering a promising new tool for mosquito control.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Biotechnology
- Vector Control
Background:
- Bacillus sphaericus 2297 produces a mosquito-larvicidal binary toxin.
- Developing effective and environmentally sound methods for mosquito control is crucial.
- Enterobacter amnigenus is a Gram-negative bacterium found in insect guts.
Purpose of the Study:
- To express the mosquito-larvicidal binary toxin of Bacillus sphaericus in Enterobacter amnigenus.
- To enhance the expression level and toxicity of the larvicidal toxin.
- To evaluate the potential of recombinant Enterobacter amnigenus for mosquito control.
Main Methods:
- The mosquito-larvicidal toxin genes from Bacillus sphaericus 2297 were cloned into Enterobacter amnigenus.
- Various promoters were tested to optimize toxin gene expression.
- Recombinant strains were analyzed for protein expression and larvicidal activity against Anopheles dirus larvae.
Main Results:
- Enterobacter amnigenus harboring the pBS373 plasmid expressed significant amounts of the larvicidal toxin, comparable to Bacillus sphaericus 2297.
- The recombinant strain demonstrated approximately twenty times higher toxicity against second-instar Anopheles dirus larvae compared to the wild-type Bacillus sphaericus.
- Successful expression of the toxin in an environmentally isolated bacterium was achieved.
Conclusions:
- Recombinant Enterobacter amnigenus expressing the Bacillus sphaericus larvicidal toxin is a highly effective candidate for mosquito control.
- This approach offers a promising alternative for developing novel larvicides.
- Further field studies are warranted to validate the efficacy and safety of this recombinant system.
