Profile of Coleopteran Specific cry Genes in Native Bacillus thuringiensis Isolates

The characterization of the strains containing Coleopteran specific and also putative novel cry genes in 993 native Bacillus thuringiensis collection is presented. Characterization was based on PCR analysis using specific primers for cry1l, cry1B, cry3, cry7,8, cry14, cry18, cry23, cry26, cry28, cry34, cry35, cry36, cry37 and cry55 genes, protein band patterns as well as their insecticidal activity on Tribolium castraneum. Strains containing cry26 and cry3 were the most abundant and represent 6.15% and 6.03% of the isolates respectively, whereas cry1I, cry7,8, cry14, cry18, cry23, cry26, cry28, cry34, cry35, cry36, cry37 and cry55 were less abundant. None of the isolates were amplified for cry1B. Two strains CFE3(1) and CFE 43(1) containing Coleopteran active cry genes showed higher activity against Tribolium castraeneum than reference strains,.,Cloning and sequencing of the amplicons allowed both the identification of known cry genes and detection of putative novel cry sequences.