Abstract
Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt)-based bioinsecticides and transgenic plants expressing proteins with insecticidal activity (Cry and Vip) have been successfully used in several integrated pest management programs worldwide. Lepidoptera comprise some of the most economically important insect pests of the major agricultural crops. In this study, the toxicity of 150 Bt strains was evaluated against Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) larvae. Eight strains (426, 520B, 1636, 1641, 1644, 1648, 1657 and 1658) showed high insecticide activity against H. armigera and were therefore tested against Anticarsia gemmatalis (Hübner), Spodoptera cosmioides (Walker), Chrysodeixis includens (Walker), and Diatraea saccharalis (Fabricius) larvae. Our results showed that most of the Bt strains were also toxic to these lepidopteran species. The biochemical and molecular analyses of these strains revealed that they had a similar protein profile; however, their cry and vip gene contents were variable. In addition, the median lethal concentration (LC50) of the selected strains indicated that the strains 1636, 1641, and 1658 were the most effective against H. armigera, showing LC50 values of 185.02, 159.44, and 192.98 ng/cm2, respectively. Our results suggest that the selected Bt strains have great potential to control the lepidopteran pests H. armigera, A. gemmatalis, D. saccharalis, S. cosmioides, and C. includes.
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Acknowledgements
We are grateful to the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) for supporting the first author through a scholarship. We thank Karine Carvalho and Luis Palhares for their assistance with the statistical analyses.
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Conceptualization: D.H.P. and F.H.V.; Methodology: D.H.P. Formal analysis and investigation: D.H.P.; Writing — original draft preparation: D.H.P.; Writing — review and editing: D.H.P. and F.H.V.; Funding acquisition: F.H.V.; Resources: F.H.V.; Supervision: F.H.V.
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Pinheiro, D.H., Valicente, F.H. Identification of Bacillus thuringiensis Strains for the Management of Lepidopteran Pests. Neotrop Entomol 50, 804–811 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13744-021-00896-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13744-021-00896-w