Genetic characterization of native Bacillus thuringiensis strains isolated from Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract

B. thuringiensis is a crystalliferous bacteria used as a biocontrol agent against lepidopteran, dipteran, and coleopteran pests. Seventy eight Bacillus thuringiensis strains were isolated from 108 soil samples collected from Tamil Nadu, India. Phylogenetic relationship of B. thuringiensis isolates were evaluated based on PCR amplified fragment polymorphisms of flagellin genes (PCR-AFPF). The isolated B. thuringiensis strains comprised of 51.3\% of known biochemical types and 48.7\% of undescribed B. thuringiensis types. PCR-AFPF UPGMA dendrogram generated using Jaccard coefficient values showed two phylogenetic groups, group A and B comprised of I-XIII and XIV-XV clusters respectively. The present study concluded that B. thuringiensis isolates from Tamil Nadu have a high degree of genetic diversity and high rate of genetic exchange.