A pathogenic strain of Bacillus cereus isolated from the cigarette beetle, Lasioderma serricorne

Abstract

A noncrystalliferous, aerobic, spore-forming bacterium (accession number DD-1019) isolated from the cigarette beetle, Lasioderma serricorne, was identified as a strain of Bacillus cereus based on morphological, biochemical, and cultural similarities. Pathogenicity was established by exposing hatching larvae of the cigarette beetle to doses of inocula ranging from 1.17 to 600 × 10 6 spores per gram of rearing medium. The LD 50 and the LD 90 were calculated to be 4.29 × 10 6 and 371 × 10 6 spores per gram of medium, respectively. The cigarette beetle was effectively controlled by both the DD-1019 strain of B. cereus and the CM1-1 strain (originally isolated from and pathogenic to codling moth, Laspeyresia pomonella) but proved quite refractory to Bacillus thuringiensis var. thuringiensis.