Madras Agricultural Journal
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Research Article | Open Access | Peer Review

Bacillus thuringiensis and its use in agriculture

Volume : 88
Issue: Apr-jun
Pages: 187 - 197
Published: June 22, 2023
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Abstract


Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is an ubiquitous Gram positive, spore forming bacterium that forms parasporal crystal inclusions. These proteinaceous inclusions are called crystal (Cry) proteins or delta- endotoxins, which are toxic to insects. Hence preparations of Bt are being used as bioinsecticides for the past four decades in commercial agriculture and forest management for the control of certain insect species belonging to the orders of Lepidoptera, Diptera and Coleoptera. Bt is a major source for transfer of genes into plants to impart insect resistance. Since 1996 millions of hectares are grown with insect resistant transgenic plants containing Bt genes, in different parts of the world. Commercial release of transgenic Bt cotton in India is expected soon.

DOI
Pages
187 - 197
Creative Commons
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Madras Agricultural Students' Union in Madras Agricultural Journal (MAJ). This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited by the user.

Keywords


Bacillus thuringiensis Biopesticide Transgenic plants
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