Genotypic diversity among Brevibacillus laterosporus strains

In comparison with other entomopathogenic Bacillus species, the genome of B revibacillus laterosporus is poorly characterized. The aim of this study wa s to examine genetic variability in B. laterosporus by using a range of typ ing methodologies. Strains of B. laterosporus were examined for variation i n 13 chromosomal genes encoding enzymes by multilocus enzyme electrophoresi s. Optimal conditions of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and randomly ampl ified polymorphic DNA were established that allowed analysis of the genome of B. laterosporus. None of these techniques allowed the identification of a convenient molecular marker for entomopathogenic strains, although one sp ecific primer amplified only DNA from almost all mosquitocidal strains.