Abstract
The pigment melanin is well known to protect against the damaging effects of UV radiation. In this study, we show that thirty-five of thirty-seven tested Bacillus thuringiensis strains possess the potential to produce melanin in the presence of L-tyrosin at elevated temperature (42 degrees C). These findings offer a method of protecting insecticidal toxins produced by B. thuringiensis from UV degredation and may therefore have important applications in the field of crop protection. Toxicity assays on Heliothis armigera suggested that the insecticidal activity of B. thuringiensis that produced melanin was significantly higher after UV irradiation than when melanin was not produced.
MeSH terms
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Animals
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Bacillus thuringiensis / physiology*
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Bacillus thuringiensis / radiation effects*
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Bacillus thuringiensis Toxins
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Bacterial Proteins / radiation effects
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Bacterial Proteins / toxicity
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Bacterial Toxins / biosynthesis
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Bacterial Toxins / radiation effects
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Bacterial Toxins / toxicity
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Endotoxins / radiation effects
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Endotoxins / toxicity
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Hemolysin Proteins
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Levodopa / biosynthesis
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Melanins / biosynthesis*
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Melanins / physiology
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Moths / growth & development
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Moths / microbiology
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Pest Control, Biological / methods
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Temperature
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Tyrosine / metabolism
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Ultraviolet Rays*
Substances
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Bacillus thuringiensis Toxins
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Bacterial Proteins
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Bacterial Toxins
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Endotoxins
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Hemolysin Proteins
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Melanins
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insecticidal crystal protein, Bacillus Thuringiensis
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Tyrosine
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Levodopa