Chapter 10
Progress on the Bacterium Bacillus
thuringiensis and Its Application Within
the Biological Control Program in Iran
Ayda Khorramnejad, Javad Karimi, and Gholamreza Salehi Jouzani
10.1 Introduction
Microbial pest control has been considered as an appropriate substitution for chemical
insecticides because of its potential for controlling agricultural and household pests,
vectors of human and animal diseases without introducing non-biodegradable materials
to the environment. Among the microbial control agents, entomopathogenic bacteria
are of crucial importance due to the ease of their application, the low-cost of production,
environmental persistence, specificity and their speed of action. Insects and bacteria are
associated based on the wide variety of relationships from symbiosis to pathogenesis
(Feldhaar 2011; Ruiu 2015). Insecticidal bacteria have an invasive power to colonize
the insect gut. From the standpoint of the utilization of bacteria in biological control of
pests, families of Bacillaceae, Paenibacillaceae and Streptococcaceae belonging to the
group of Gram-positive bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae and Neisseriaceae belonging to
Gram-negative bacteria, have been considered substantially (Jurat-Fuentes and Jackson
2012). However, the microbial control market has been dominated by the bacteria in the
genus Bacillus, notably Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). The application of insecticidal
proteins produced by B. thuringiensis is highly desirable, due to its high specificity,
A. Khorramnejad (*)
Department of Plant Protection, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of
Tehran, Karaj, Iran
Instituto BioTecMed, Departamento de Genética, Universitat de València, València, Spain
e-mail: ayda.khoramnejad@uv.es
J. Karimi
Department of Plant Protection, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran
G. S. Jouzani
Agricultural Biotechnology Research Institute of Iran (ABRII), Agricultural Research,
Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Karaj, Iran
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
J. Karimi, H. Madadi (eds.), Biological Control of Insect and Mite Pests in Iran,
Progress in Biological Control 18, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63990-7_10
403
Progress on the Bacterium Bacillus
thuringiensis and Its Application Within
the Biological Control Program in Iran
Ayda Khorramnejad, Javad Karimi, and Gholamreza Salehi Jouzani
10.1 Introduction
Microbial pest control has been considered as an appropriate substitution for chemical
insecticides because of its potential for controlling agricultural and household pests,
vectors of human and animal diseases without introducing non-biodegradable materials
to the environment. Among the microbial control agents, entomopathogenic bacteria
are of crucial importance due to the ease of their application, the low-cost of production,
environmental persistence, specificity and their speed of action. Insects and bacteria are
associated based on the wide variety of relationships from symbiosis to pathogenesis
(Feldhaar 2011; Ruiu 2015). Insecticidal bacteria have an invasive power to colonize
the insect gut. From the standpoint of the utilization of bacteria in biological control of
pests, families of Bacillaceae, Paenibacillaceae and Streptococcaceae belonging to the
group of Gram-positive bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae and Neisseriaceae belonging to
Gram-negative bacteria, have been considered substantially (Jurat-Fuentes and Jackson
2012). However, the microbial control market has been dominated by the bacteria in the
genus Bacillus, notably Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). The application of insecticidal
proteins produced by B. thuringiensis is highly desirable, due to its high specificity,
A. Khorramnejad (*)
Department of Plant Protection, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of
Tehran, Karaj, Iran
Instituto BioTecMed, Departamento de Genética, Universitat de València, València, Spain
e-mail: ayda.khoramnejad@uv.es
J. Karimi
Department of Plant Protection, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran
G. S. Jouzani
Agricultural Biotechnology Research Institute of Iran (ABRII), Agricultural Research,
Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Karaj, Iran
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
J. Karimi, H. Madadi (eds.), Biological Control of Insect and Mite Pests in Iran,
Progress in Biological Control 18, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63990-7_10
403