Recovery of Bacillus thuringiensis and other bacteria from larvae of Spodoptera littoralis previously fed B. thuringiensis-treated leaves

Abstract

Exposure of a spore-crystal suspension of Bacillus thuringiensis to UV irradiation for (200 lx) 8.5 min killed most of the spores ( P P 0 = 2.6 × 10 −4 ), while the insecticidal activity of the suspension to larvae of Spodoptera littoralis was only slightly affected. Numbers of colony-forming units (CFU) of B. thuringiensis recovered from larvae after ingestion of spores decreased with time as long as the larvae lived and several hours after larval death. Only 3–6 hr after larval death, the spores germinated and multiplied, reaching up to 100-fold after 24 hr. When UV-irradiated suspensions were used, numbers of CFU per larva were too scarce to be recovered from living larvae. However, 1.5 × 10 6 CFU/larva were recovered 24 hr after death. It seems that the disruption of the gut epithelium by the endotoxin caused a change in the unfavorable conditions for endospore germination, thus providing the suitable ambient for germination and multiplication of B. thuringiensis. Numbers of other bacteria present per milligram of healthy larva increased with larval weight, predominantly Streptococcus sp. and Erwinia sp. In dead larvae, the increase of Erwinia sp. was higher than that of Streptococcus sp. Other bacterial species isolated were: Corynebacterium sp., Micrococcus sp., Serratia marcescens, and Bacillus sp.