Specific primers for the detection of vip3A insecticidal gene within a Bacillus thuringiensis collection

• Published in: Letters in applied microbiology Vol. 28; no. 5; pp. 378 - 382
• Main Author: Rice, W. C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Science, Ltd 01.05.1999; Blackwell Science
• Subjects: Bacillus thuringiensis; Bacteriological methods and techniques used in bacteriology; Bacteriology; Biological and medical sciences; Biological control; Control; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; insecticidal proteins; Lepidoptera; Microbiology; Phytopathology. Animal pests. Plant and forest protection; Protozoa. Invertebrates; vip3A gene; Vip3A protein; Insecta; Bacillus thuringiensis; Biological control; Method; Bacillaceae; Polymerase chain reaction; Bacillales; Arthropoda; Lepidoptera; Bacteria; Activity spectrum; Invertebrata; Detection; Microbial insecticide
• ISSN: 0266-8254; 1472-765X
• DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-2672.1999.00536.x

A PCR‐based method was developed for the rapid detection of vip3A gene encoding a novel Bacillus thuringiensis vegetative insecticidal protein with a wide spectrum of activities against lepidopteran insects. Specific primer combinations (three primers for the normal strand and two primers for the complementary strand) were capable of generating diagnostic fragments that successfully predicted the presence of the gene encoding the Vip3A insecticidal toxin in various B. thuringiensis strains. Specificity of amplicons generated by primer pairs was confirmed by restriction endonuclease digestion and DNA sequence analysis. The evaluation of B. thuringiensis strains for biological activity against insect pests of rice is thus aided by the grouping of strains based on their potential insecticidal spectrum.