Detection of Bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki HD1 on cabbage for human consumption

• Published in: FEMS microbiology letters 2006-04, Vol.257 (1), p.106-111
• Main Authors: Hendriksen, Niels Bohse, Hansen, Bjarne Munk
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Bacillus cereus - classification; Bacillus cereus - genetics; Bacillus cereus - isolation & purification; Bacillus thuringiensis; Bacillus thuringiensis - classification; Bacillus thuringiensis - genetics; Bacillus thuringiensis - isolation & purification; Bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki HD1; Bacterial Typing Techniques; Bacteriology; Biological and medical sciences; biopesticide; Brassica - microbiology; Brassica oleracea; Butterflies & moths; cabbage; Consumption; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; Flagellin; Flagellin - genetics; Food Microbiology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Genetics; human consumption; Humans; Microbiology; Pest Control, Biological; Pesticides; Polymerase Chain Reaction - methods; Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA Technique; RAPD‐PCR; Systematics
• ISSN: 0378-1097; 1574-6968
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1574-6968.2006.00159.x

Abstract The objectives of the study were to develop a specific procedure for quantification and identification of Bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki HD1, which is used as a biopesticide, and to quantify its presence in different kinds of cabbage for human consumption. We found that B. thuringiensis kurstaki HD1 can be distinguished from other B. thuringiensis strains by its unique random amplification of polymophic DNA-PCR pattern with the OPA9 primer and the presence of the flagellin genes, as detected by the primers FLAB1 and FLAB2. We detected from one to 100 Bacillus cereus-like bacteria in 10 batches of five different cabbage products for consumption. As many as 73 out of 134 isolates (53.7%) were identical with B. thuringiensis kurstaki HD1. The results show that B. thuringiensis kurstaki HD1 from biopesticides can be found in vegetables for human consumption.