Analysis of taxonomic inference of 40 Bacillus thuringiensis serotypes using genome profiling

Bacillus thuringiensis (Ishiwata, 1901; Berliner, 1915) has been extensively utilized as a microbial insecticide because it has potent insecticidal characteristics. A classification based on the H serotype of B. thuringiensis has been used for a long time. Some of the associations between H serotyping and insecticidal activity have come to be understood, while the correlations of H serotyping with specific DNA sequences have not been clarified. In this study, the correlations between H serotyping and the genome of B. thuringiensis were examined using a genome profiling (GP) method, which was a simple method of comparing two different genomes. As a result of the phylogenetic analysis of B. thuringiensis by the GP method, all strains were clearly distinguished, and broadly divided into two groups. In addition, through comparing it with profiles of the same serotype in the H3 serotype it was shown that similar serotype strains shared some common species identification dots (Spiddos). Therefore, this study suggested not only differences between each strain but also similarities within the same H serotype strains.