Abstract
The control of dipteran pests is highly relevant to humans due to their involvement in the transmission of serious diseases including malaria, dengue fever, Chikungunya, yellow fever, zika, and filariasis; as well as their agronomic impact on numerous crops. Many bacteria are able to produce proteins that are active against insect species. These bacteria include Bacillus thuringiensis, the most widely-studied pesticidal bacterium, which synthesizes proteins that accumulate in crystals with insecticidal properties and which has been widely used in the biological control of insects from different orders, including Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, and Diptera. In this review, we summarize all the bacterial proteins, from B. thuringiensis and other entomopathogenic bacteria, which have described insecticidal activity against dipteran pests, including species of medical and agronomic importance.
Highlights
Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) has been isolated from the most diverse habitats of our planet [1,2], since its discovery, in 1901, and correct scientific description, in 1915
Synergies have been described between Cyt proteins and L. sphaericus factors and Cyt1Aa, Cyt1Ab and Cyt2Ba combined with L. sphaericus binary toxins Tpp1Aa and Tpp2Aa show an increase in toxic activity against A. aegypti and C. quinquefasciatus [66,107,113,199]
The control of dipteran pests is highly relevant as some species in this order are a source of enormous damage in diverse crops, whereas others have potential to transmit serious human diseases
Summary
Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) has been isolated from the most diverse habitats of our planet [1,2], since its discovery, in 1901, and correct scientific description, in 1915 This has led to the characterization of a large number of Bt strains that, as a whole, have revealed an enormous genetic diversity of this bacterium. Some of the most relevant functions attributed to Bt from the applied point of view are: plant growth-promoting activities, bioremediation of different heavy metals and other pollutants, biosynthesis of metal nanoparticles, production of polyhydroxy alkanoate biopolymer, and anticancer activities [3] In agriculture it is, without a doubt, the most widely-used bacterium because of its usefulness as a biological pest control agent and as the most important source of insecticidal genes for the construction of resistant transgenic plants ( known as Bt plants) to some of the most important agricultural and forestry pests [4]. In this review we will refer to the proteins by their revised names, with reference to their previous designations given (Table 1 and text)
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