Isolation, culture, preservation, and identification of entomopathogenic bacteria of the Bacilli

Entomopathogenic Bacilli provide an alternative to chemical pesticides used in insect control programs. This chapter provides techniques, both classical and modern, that will enable researchers from any laboratory setting to identify and work with novel strains of entomopathogenic Bacilli. In addition to providing classical techniques to search for and identify new bacterial isolates potentially toxic to insects, this current chapter includes the use of 16S rDNA gene sequence determination and comparison, which has led to much of the refinements defining the Bacilli. Because these bacteria still have the same biochemical and morphological traits used to determine their identity, we have retained many of the procedures used to isolate, cultivate and identify Bacilli described in the first edition of this manual.