BIOINSECTICIDES

Varun Lohar
M.Sc. Microbiology
 Bioinsecticide?
These are certain microorganism,
which can control insect population
called microbial insecticide or
bioinsecticide.
 BIOINSECTICIDES
Characteristics of bioinsecticides
1. High specificity
2. Virulence
3. Persistence
4. Viability
5. Economic
6. Quality control
7. Safety
8. stability
 Types of Bioinsecticides

1. Bacterial insecticides

2. Viral Insecticides

3. Fungal Insecticides

4. Protozoal Insecticides
 Bacterial Insecticides

Spore forming bacterial pathogens-

e.g. Bacillus thuringiensis, B.
lantimorbis, Bacillus poplliae etc.

Non-Spore forming bacterial pathogens-

e.g. Pseudomonas spp., Streptomyces
spp., Strepcoccus spp. etc.
 Bacillus thuringiensis
Gram-positive

Sporulating organism

They contain perasporal body, crystalline

protein in their spores.

Mode of action:Bacillus
thuriengiensis
Mode of action of Bacillus
thuringiensis
Ingestion of microorganism

Solubilization of parasporal body of

microorganism.

Production of active toxin

Swelling and bursting of mid-gut cell

Commercial formulation of Bacillus
thuringiensis
Active Target Product name manufacturer
ingredient pathogen

B.t. var. Lepidoptera Thuricede Sandoz ,USA

kurstaki Dipel Abbott, USA

B.t. var. Larvae of Teknar Sandoz, USA

israelensis mosquitoes and Vectobac Abbott, USA
black flies. Bactimos Antotech, USA
 Advantages

 Effective on insects that have

developed resistence to other
insecticides.
 Widely acceptable
 Limitations

 Less persistence power

 Affected by UV light
 Requires stickers or spreaders
 Affected by weather conditions
 Improvement in
Bacillus thuringiensis through
genetic engineering

 Development of trans-conjugate strains

that express convention Bacillus
thuringiensis genes with wider host
spectrum.
 Direct modification of the specificity
domains.
 Development of transgenic microbes of
plant.
 Other bacterial
 Bacillus insecticides
popillae and Bacillus lantimorbis
Mode of action
Entry in gut

Germination

Invade cell wall

Multiplication
 VIRAL
INSETICIDES
Types of viral insecticides

1. Nuclear polyhedrosis virus

2. Granulosis virus

3. Cytoplasmic polyhedrosis virus

 Most effective viral
insecticide

Baculovirus

 Recombinant baculo virus

 Nuclear polyhedrosis virus

 Characteristics

 Polyhedral inclusion body

 Highly refractile

 Seen under light microscope

 Mode Of Action
Entry into mid gut

Virus disintegration

Release of virion

Invade cytoplasm and nuclei

Lysis of host cell

Advantages of viral
Insecticides
1. High host specificity

2. Most reliable and safe

3.Large scale production

cost is less
FUNGAL INSECTICIDE
 IN 1935 FIRST REPORTED THAT FUNGUS
CONTROLLING THE INSECTS.

 APPROXIMATELY 700 SPP. OF FUNGI ARE

PATHOGENIC TO INSECTS .

 THEY CAUSES MYCOSIS IN MANY

DIFFERENT ARTHOPODS
 INFECT ALL STAGES OF THE LIFE CYCLE OF
THE HOST.
 FUNGI PENETRATE THE INSECT CUTICLE
 DIFFERENT FUNGAL
INSECTICIDES
Three main genera of fungi
 Coelomomices
 Lagenidium
 Culicinomyces
 Protozoal insecticides

 Mainly microsporidia group of

species
 E.g. Nosema
Mode of action
Entry into mid gut

Multiplication

spreading

Death of insects
 General advantages of
bioinsecticide
 They are very reliable and safe as they have high
host specificity
 Being biodegradable in nature
 Cultivation is possible at laboratory level
 Required less concentration to control insect
 They don’t alter the viability of biofertilizer
 Limitation of
bioinsecticides
 Less species of microbes are only
suitable as bioinsecticide
 Low persistent power
 Most of the time they give good
results at the pilot scale but don not
give the same results in the field
trials.
QUERIES ?
THANK YOU