Advances in Bacillus thuringiensis Toxins

A special issue of Toxins (ISSN 2072-6651). This special issue belongs to the section "Bacterial Toxins".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2024) | Viewed by 1470

Special Issue Editor


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Plant Protection Department, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Interests: toxicity; resistance monitoring; genetics of Bt resistance; fitness costs; molecular and biochemical mechansims; cross-resistance patterns; sub-lethal effects; agricultural and medical pests; resistance management strategies

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

I would like to invite you to contribute to this Special Issue focused on Bacillus thuringiensis toxins. Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxins are environmentally safe and more selective for target pests; therefore, dependency on the application of conventional insecticides is reduced and they have revolutionized agriculture. These Bt. toxins can be directly expressed in transgenic plants with the incorporation of Bt. genes, which have successfully reduced the incidence of lepidopteran pest attacks, ultimately increasing the yield of cotton, maize, rice and soybean crops. However, the development of field-evolved resistance is a big threat to Bt toxin effectiveness for controlling pests with the passage of time. Hence, it is necessary to explore biochemical and molecular techniques to study the toxicity evaluation, nature of resistance development, resistance mechanisms, contributing factors, sublethal effects, fitness costs, cross-resistance patterns, identification and overexpression of resistance genes, deciphering the protein binding sites in agriculture and medical pests, and investigating the insect microbial communities. Moreover, effective and continuous Bt resistance monitoring and resistance management strategies should be established to delay the evolution of resistance to Bt. proteins. Exploring these studies can help in the sustainable utilization of Bt. crop biotechnology. Entomologists, especially toxinologists, are focusing their efforts on understanding the various aspects of Bt resistance, including basic biochemical and molecular studies for the eco-friendly and sustainable management of pests.

Original research, communication, and review papers are welcome. We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Naeem Abbas
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Toxins is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • toxicity
  • resistance
  • genetics
  • fitness costs
  • mechansim
  • cross-resistance
  • sub-lethal effects
  • agricultural and medical pests
  • resistance management strategies
  • Bacillus thuringiensis toxins

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Review

26 pages, 548 KiB  
Review
Resistance of Lepidopteran Pests to Bacillus thuringiensis Toxins: Evidence of Field and Laboratory Evolved Resistance and Cross-Resistance, Mode of Resistance Inheritance, Fitness Costs, Mechanisms Involved and Management Options
by Muhammad Babar Shahzad Afzal, Mamuna Ijaz, Naeem Abbas, Sarfraz Ali Shad and José Eduardo Serrão
Toxins 2024, 16(7), 315; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins16070315 - 12 Jul 2024
Viewed by 1090
Abstract
Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxins are potential alternatives to synthetic insecticides for the control of lepidopteran pests. However, the evolution of resistance in some insect pest populations is a threat and can reduce the effectiveness of Bt toxins. In this review, we [...] Read more.
Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxins are potential alternatives to synthetic insecticides for the control of lepidopteran pests. However, the evolution of resistance in some insect pest populations is a threat and can reduce the effectiveness of Bt toxins. In this review, we summarize the results of 161 studies from 20 countries reporting field and laboratory-evolved resistance, cross-resistance, and inheritance, mechanisms, and fitness costs of resistance to different Bt toxins. The studies refer mainly to insects from the United States of America (70), followed by China (31), Brazil (19), India (12), Malaysia (9), Spain (3), and Australia (3). The majority of the studies revealed that most of the pest populations showed susceptibility and a lack of cross-resistance to Bt toxins. Factors that delay resistance include recessive inheritance of resistance, the low initial frequency of resistant alleles, increased fitness costs, abundant refuges of non-Bt, and pyramided Bt crops. The results of field and laboratory resistance, cross-resistance, and inheritance, mechanisms, and fitness cost of resistance are advantageous for predicting the threat of future resistance and making effective strategies to sustain the effectiveness of Bt crops. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Bacillus thuringiensis Toxins)
Back to TopTop