Susceptibility of Tribolium castaneum to Bacillus thuringiensis

In this study, the susceptibility of T. castaneum to Bt bacterial strains was investigated in order to find the most suitable strain for investigation of host-pathogen interactions. Strains for the infections were chosen according to their Cry toxins (Table 1). Bt tolworthi and Bt kumamotoensis both carry toxins that are toxic against coleopteran insects [76] (link), [77] . Bt morrisoni bv. tenebrionis is toxic to coleopterans [42] , [78] , [79] . Bt kurstaki is a lepidopteran-specific strain although purified toxins were found to be active against T. castaneum adults [39] , [22] . All B. thuringiensis strains were provided by the Bacillus Genetic Stock Center (BGSC, Ohio State University, USA) except for the strains Bt 407cry⁻ and Bt 407gfpcry⁻[80] (link), the latter of which carries a green fluorescent protein (GFP) marker [81] (link). These strains were kindly provided by Dr. Christina Nielsen-Leroux, Institut National de Recherche Agronomique, La Minière, 78285 Guyancourt Cedex, France.