BIOLOGY 207 Lecture Notes - Lecture 37: Kill Switch, Bacillus Thuringiensis, Crispr
Document Summary
To understand how all of this works we will need something more than merely lists of components the great difference between the telephone directory and a. Shakespeare play is that, while both have a grand cast of characters, only the play has a plot. It is remarkable how many useful microbial products can be imagined and are being developed using the tools of biotechnology. Insecticidal proteins from bacillus thuringiensis have been engineered into plant genomes to protect crops from insect devastations. B. thuringiensi s is a highly beneficial pesticide with few downsides. It sporralates on the surface of plants and can make these crystallized proteins that are actually toxic to the insects that feed on the plant. A single subspecies of this bacterium, can produce multiple and highly specific insecticidal proteins. And because of its effectiveness of farmers now, spread the spores directly on their crops.
