Genome sequencing of Bacillus thuringiensis mutants with phage resistence

Bacillus thuringiensis is a successful insecticide and nematicide worldwide. However, phages in soil reduce its activity and stability. In our previous study, we found that Bt strain YBT-1518 with high nematicidal activity obtained phage resistence unintentionally, and large-scale screening showed that this kind of resistence is popular in all H-antigen serotypes of Bt. Thus, increasing phage resistence of Bt will become an important for application of Bt pesticides. In this project, we have screened 28 phage-resistent Bt strains, and have found the key genes resisting phage infection based on comparative genome analysis.