1. What is Bacillus thuringiensis? Kaley Graves Kayla John

2. What is it? • Soil-dwelling, rod-shaped bacterium • Used as Insecticide (since 1930s) -kills butterfly and moth caterpillars, mosquitos, and some fly larvae • Gets rid of harmful threats to a plants’ health

3. Microbiology • The bacteria is a pesticide because of a protein endotoxin. Its actually a so-called protoxin. • The molecule must be processed to some other form before the toxic activity is present. • The protoxin molecules form a crystal that doesn’t dissolve easily inside the bacterium.

4. How it kills • The endotoxin produces a lining on the wall of the insects’ gut. • It makes holes in the cells, destroying the function of the gut. • The toxins creates massive cell death. • The larva is unable to eat. • Death.