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Appl. Environ. Microbiol. doi:10.1128/AEM.00977-08
Copyright (c) 2008, American Society for Microbiology and/or the Listed Authors/Institutions. All Rights Reserved.

Cloning and Heterologous Expression of Insecticidal Genes from Photorhabdus luminescens TT01 in Enterobacter cloacae for Termite Control

South China Botanical Garden of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China; Guangdong Entomological Institute, Guangzhou 510260, China; and Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039, China

	Abstract

Enterobacter cloacae, one of the indigenous gut bacteria of the Formosan subterranean termite Coptotermes formosanus, was genetically modified with a transposon Tn5 vector containing genes (tcdA1 and tcdB1) encoding orally insecticidal proteins from the entomopathogenic bacterium, Photorhabdus luminescens subspecies laumondii TT01, a symbiont of the entomopathogenic nematode Heterorhabditis bacteriophora, for the termite control. In the laboratory, termites were fed with filter paper inoculated with the recombinant bacteria. The chromosomal expression of the introduced genes showed insecticidal activities against termite workers and soldiers challenged with transformed bacteria. After feeding of the recombinant bacteria, the termite mortality was 3.3% at day 5, and increased from 8.7% at day 9 to 93.3% at day 29. All the dead termites contained the recombinant bacteria in their guts. The transfer of the recombinant bacteria was observed between donor (initially fed with recombinant bacteria) and recipient (not fed) workers. More than 20% of the recipient termites ingested the recombinant bacteria within 2 h and 73.3% after 12 h. The success of the present method provides a useful alternative for the sustainable control of Formosan subterranean termite C. formosanus and other social insects, such as imported red fire ant Solenopsis invicta.