Medical Definition of Bacillus thuringiensis
1.
Soil living bacterium that produces an endotoxin that is deadly to insects. Many strains exist, each with great specificity as to target Orders of insects.
In general, the mode of action involves solubilisation at the high pH within the target insect's gut, followed by proteolytic cleavage, the activated peptides form pores in the gut cell apical plasma membranes, causing lysis of the cells.
This entry appears with permission from the Dictionary of Cell and Molecular Biology
(11 Mar 2008)
Lexicographical Neighbors of Bacillus Thuringiensis
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