Genomic and morphological features of an Amazonian Bacillus thuringiensis with mosquito larvicidal activity

Abstract The occurrence of mosquito-borne diseases is increasing, and their geographical range is expanding due to climate change. New control measures are urgently needed to combat these debilitating and, in some cases, fatal diseases. Bacteria of the genus Bacillus are of interest due to the produ...

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Main Authors: Veranilce Alves Muniz, Ricardo de Melo Katak, Lílian Caesar, Juan Campos de Oliveira, Elerson Matos Rocha, Marta Rodrigues de Oliveira, Gilvan Ferreira da Silva, Rosemary Aparecida Roque, Osvaldo Marinotti, Olle Terenius, Edmar Vaz de Andrade
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SpringerOpen 2025-03-01
Series:AMB Express
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s13568-025-01850-4
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author Veranilce Alves Muniz
Ricardo de Melo Katak
Lílian Caesar
Juan Campos de Oliveira
Elerson Matos Rocha
Marta Rodrigues de Oliveira
Gilvan Ferreira da Silva
Rosemary Aparecida Roque
Osvaldo Marinotti
Olle Terenius
Edmar Vaz de Andrade
author_facet Veranilce Alves Muniz
Ricardo de Melo Katak
Lílian Caesar
Juan Campos de Oliveira
Elerson Matos Rocha
Marta Rodrigues de Oliveira
Gilvan Ferreira da Silva
Rosemary Aparecida Roque
Osvaldo Marinotti
Olle Terenius
Edmar Vaz de Andrade
author_sort Veranilce Alves Muniz
collection DOAJ
description Abstract The occurrence of mosquito-borne diseases is increasing, and their geographical range is expanding due to climate change. New control measures are urgently needed to combat these debilitating and, in some cases, fatal diseases. Bacteria of the genus Bacillus are of interest due to the production of bioactive compounds, including those useful for insect control. The discovery and characterization of new species of Bacillus with mosquito larvicidal activity may offer opportunities to develop new products for vector control. In this study, we evaluated larvicidal activity, described morphological characteristics, and sequenced and analyzed the genome of a bacterial strain (GD02.13) isolated from the Amazon region. The metabolites produced by GD02.13 are as effective in killing Aedes aegypti larvae as the commercial product Natular™ DT (Spinosad). Furthermore, the morphological characteristics of the GD02.13 spores and crystal inclusions resemble those previously described for B. thuringiensis. A phylogenetic analysis based on 443 single-copy orthologs indicated that the bacterial strain GD02.13 belongs to the Bacillus thuringiensis species. Its genome, which was assembled and has a size of 6.6 Mb, contains 16 secondary metabolite biosynthetic gene clusters and genes encoding insecticidal proteins, predicted based on sequence similarity. The data obtained in this study support the development of new insecticide products based on the strain GD02.13 of B. thuringiensis.
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spelling doaj-art-241bcd4e067d460ea4a05a480af318eb2025-08-20T01:57:40ZengSpringerOpenAMB Express2191-08552025-03-0115111010.1186/s13568-025-01850-4Genomic and morphological features of an Amazonian Bacillus thuringiensis with mosquito larvicidal activityVeranilce Alves Muniz0Ricardo de Melo Katak1Lílian Caesar2Juan Campos de Oliveira3Elerson Matos Rocha4Marta Rodrigues de Oliveira5Gilvan Ferreira da Silva6Rosemary Aparecida Roque7Osvaldo Marinotti8Olle Terenius9Edmar Vaz de Andrade10Graduate Program in Biotechnology - PPGBIOTEC, UFAMOswaldo Cruz Foundation – Leônidas and Maria Deane InstituteDepartment of Biology, Indiana UniversityGraduate Program in Biotechnology - PPGBIOTEC, UFAMNational Institute of Amazonian Research-INPADepartment of Entomology and Acarology, Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, ESALQ – USP - PiracicabaEmbrapa Amazônia Ocidental National Institute of Amazonian Research-INPADepartment of Biology, Indiana UniversityDepartment of Cell and Molecular Biology, Uppsala UniversityInstitute of Biological Sciences - ICB/UFAMAbstract The occurrence of mosquito-borne diseases is increasing, and their geographical range is expanding due to climate change. New control measures are urgently needed to combat these debilitating and, in some cases, fatal diseases. Bacteria of the genus Bacillus are of interest due to the production of bioactive compounds, including those useful for insect control. The discovery and characterization of new species of Bacillus with mosquito larvicidal activity may offer opportunities to develop new products for vector control. In this study, we evaluated larvicidal activity, described morphological characteristics, and sequenced and analyzed the genome of a bacterial strain (GD02.13) isolated from the Amazon region. The metabolites produced by GD02.13 are as effective in killing Aedes aegypti larvae as the commercial product Natular™ DT (Spinosad). Furthermore, the morphological characteristics of the GD02.13 spores and crystal inclusions resemble those previously described for B. thuringiensis. A phylogenetic analysis based on 443 single-copy orthologs indicated that the bacterial strain GD02.13 belongs to the Bacillus thuringiensis species. Its genome, which was assembled and has a size of 6.6 Mb, contains 16 secondary metabolite biosynthetic gene clusters and genes encoding insecticidal proteins, predicted based on sequence similarity. The data obtained in this study support the development of new insecticide products based on the strain GD02.13 of B. thuringiensis.https://doi.org/10.1186/s13568-025-01850-4Bacillus spp.BioinsecticidesVector controlMosquito
spellingShingle Veranilce Alves Muniz
Ricardo de Melo Katak
Lílian Caesar
Juan Campos de Oliveira
Elerson Matos Rocha
Marta Rodrigues de Oliveira
Gilvan Ferreira da Silva
Rosemary Aparecida Roque
Osvaldo Marinotti
Olle Terenius
Edmar Vaz de Andrade
Genomic and morphological features of an Amazonian Bacillus thuringiensis with mosquito larvicidal activity
AMB Express
Bacillus spp.
Bioinsecticides
Vector control
Mosquito
title Genomic and morphological features of an Amazonian Bacillus thuringiensis with mosquito larvicidal activity
title_full Genomic and morphological features of an Amazonian Bacillus thuringiensis with mosquito larvicidal activity
title_fullStr Genomic and morphological features of an Amazonian Bacillus thuringiensis with mosquito larvicidal activity
title_full_unstemmed Genomic and morphological features of an Amazonian Bacillus thuringiensis with mosquito larvicidal activity
title_short Genomic and morphological features of an Amazonian Bacillus thuringiensis with mosquito larvicidal activity
title_sort genomic and morphological features of an amazonian bacillus thuringiensis with mosquito larvicidal activity
topic Bacillus spp.
Bioinsecticides
Vector control
Mosquito
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s13568-025-01850-4
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