Biotechnological potential of Bacillus thuringiensis in the post-genomic era

Microbial diseases are a major cause of reduced crop yields resulting in major losses for many countries. Bacillus thuringiensis is a species naturally found associated with soils insects and plants. Although most studies on this species focus only on its direct effects against insect pests we show that there may be several other mechanisms for plant protection especially against phytopathogenic microorganisms. In this work the sequencing of the genome of B. thuringiensis BAC3151 endophytic from common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) in addition to other previously published genomes of the species provided the opportunity to perform comparative analyses between different strains. In summary the book will contribute significantly in the search for innovative strategies to perform biological control of microbial diseases in agricultural crops aiming to reduce the damage caused by phytopathogens.