Editing Bacillus thuringiensis (section)

==Use of spores and proteins in pest control==
Spores and crystalline insecticidal proteins produced by ''B. thuringiensis'' have been used to control insect pests since the 1920s and are often applied as liquid sprays.<ref name="review">{{cite journal | vauthors = Lemaux PG | title = Genetically Engineered Plants and Foods: A Scientist's Analysis of the Issues (Part I) | journal = Annual Review of Plant Biology | volume = 59 | pages = 771–812 | year = 2008 | pmid = 18284373 | doi = 10.1146/annurev.arplant.58.032806.103840 }}</ref> They are now used as specific [[insecticide]]s under trade names such as DiPel and Thuricide. Because of their specificity, these [[pesticide]]s are regarded as environmentally friendly, with little or no effect on humans, [[wildlife]], [[pollinator]]s, and most other [[beneficial insect]]s, and are used in [[organic farming]];<ref name="pmid12598644"/> however, the manuals for these products do contain many environmental and human health warnings,<ref>{{Cite web |url= http://www.cdms.net/ldat/ld4KK005.pdf |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130908063221/http://www.cdms.net/ldat/ld4KK005.pdf |url-status=dead|title=DiPelProDf data sheet | publisher = Valent U.S.A Corporation | date = 2005 |archive-date=September 8, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url= http://www.cdms.net/ldat/ld4KK007.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140313091246/http://www.cdms.net/ldat/ld4KK007.pdf|url-status=dead|title=DiPelProDf data sheet | publisher = Valent U.S.A Corporation | date = 2009 |archive-date=March 13, 2014}}</ref> and a 2012 European regulatory peer review of five approved strains found, while data exist to support some claims of low toxicity to humans and the environment, the data are insufficient to justify many of these claims.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Conclusion on the peer review of the pesticide risk assessment of the active substance Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki (strains ABTS 351, PB 54, SA 11, SA 12, EG 2348)|date=August 8, 2012|journal=EFSA Journal|volume=10|issue=2|pages=2540|doi=10.2903/j.efsa.2012.2540|doi-access=free}}</ref>

New strains of Bt are developed and introduced over time<ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Rubin AL | chapter = Microbial Pest Control Agents: Use Patterns, Registration Requirements, and Mammalian Toxicity | chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=sUrLT9z9i3IC&pg=PA442 | veditors = Krieger R |title= Hayes' Handbook of Pesticide Toxicology | volume = 1 |publisher=Academic Press, imprint of Elsevier |year=2010 |pages=442–443|isbn= 978-0-08-092201-0 }}</ref> as insects develop resistance to Bt,<ref name="HuangBuschman2001">{{cite journal| vauthors = Huang F, Buschman LL, Higgins RA |title=Larval feeding behavior of Dipel-resistant and susceptible Ostrinia nubilalis on diet containing Bacillus thuringiensis (Dipel EStm) |journal=Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata|volume=98|issue=2|year=2001|pages= 141–148 |issn=0013-8703|doi=10.1046/j.1570-7458.2001.00768.x|s2cid=86218577 }}</ref> or the desire occurs to force mutations to modify organism characteristics<ref>{{cite patent | country = US | number = 4910016 |url=https://www.google.com/patents/US4910016 |title=Novel Bacillus thuringiensis isolate | inventor = Gaertner FH, Soares GC, Payne J | assign1 = Mycogen Corp | gdate = 20 March 1990 | postscript = . }}</ref>{{clarify|reason=What does this mean?|date=November 2020}}, or to use homologous recombinant [[genetic engineering]] to improve crystal size and increase pesticidal activity,<ref>{{cite patent |url=https://www.google.com/patents/US6303382 |title=Formation of and methods for the production of large bacillus thuringiensis crystals with increased pesticidal activity | assign1 = Valent BioSciences LLC | inventor = Adams LF, Thomas MD, Sloma AP, Widner WR | country = US | number = 6303382 | gdate = 16 October 2001 | postscript = . }}</ref> or broaden the host range of Bt and obtain more effective formulations.<ref>{{cite patent |status = patent|url= https://www.google.com/patents/US5955367 |title=Production of bacillus thuringiensis integrants |number=5955367 |country =US |pridate = 1989-12-18 |pubdate = 1999-09-21| inventor = Adams LF }}</ref> Each new strain is given a unique number and registered with the U.S. EPA<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-PEST/2007/October/Day-26/p20828.htm|title=Pesticides; Data Requirements for Biochemical and Microbial Pesticides|publisher=U.S. Environmental Protection Agency|access-date=2022-04-09}}</ref> and allowances may be given for genetic modification depending on "its parental strains, the proposed pesticide use pattern, and the manner and extent to which the organism has been genetically modified".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/40/158.2100|title=40 CFR § 158.2100 - Microbial pesticides definition and applicability.|website=Law.cornell.edu|access-date=9 April 2022}}</ref> Formulations of Bt that are approved for organic farming in the US are listed at the website of the [[Organic Materials Review Institute]] (OMRI)<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.omri.org/ubersearch/results/bacillus%20thuringiensis?type[]=materials_article&type[]=opd_generic_listing&type[]=livestock&type[]=opd_listed_product&type[]=opd_prohibited_product&type[]=opd_removed_product |title= Search: bacillus, thuringiensis |publisher=OMRI }}</ref> and several university extension websites offer advice on how to use Bt spore or protein preparations in organic farming.<ref>{{cite book | veditors = Caldwell B, Sideman E, Seaman A, Shelton A, Smart C |year=2013 |chapter=Material Fact Sheet: Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) |chapter-url=http://web.pppmb.cals.cornell.edu/resourceguide/pdf/resource-guide-for-organic-insect-and-disease-management.pdf#116 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://web.pppmb.cals.cornell.edu/resourceguide/pdf/resource-guide-for-organic-insect-and-disease-management.pdf#116 |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |pages=109–12 |title=Resource Guide for Organic Insect and Disease Management |edition=2nd |url=http://web.pppmb.cals.cornell.edu/resourceguide/ |isbn= 978-0-9676507-8-4}}</ref><ref name=ColoSt />