Ming Li , Shusheng Liu , Minsheng Lin

Hainan Tropical Agricultural Resources Research Institute, Tropical Microbial Resources Research Center, Sanya, 572025, Hainan, China
Author    Correspondence author
Bt Research, 2024, Vol. 15, No. 1   doi: 10.5376/bt.2024.15.0005
Received: 20 Dec., 2023    Accepted: 30 Jan., 2024    Published: 15 Feb., 2024

This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Li M., Liu S.S., and Lin M.S., 2024, Bt toxin-receptor interactions: advances in understanding insect specificity, Bt Research, 15(1): 42-52 (doi: 10.5376/bt.2024.15.0005)

The Bt toxin produced by Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) has been widely used in agricultural pest management because of its efficient insect targeting and relatively low impact on environmental and non-target organisms. These toxins are able to specifically bind to the receptors of insect intestinal cells, triggering insect death. With increasing reports of pests developing resistance to existing Bt crops, studying toxin-receptor interactions will not only help us design new or improved Bt toxins, but also help us predict and manage the development of pest resistance to these toxins. This study synthesizes the latest understanding of Bt toxin-receptor interactions, focusing on the structural and functional aspects of these proteins and their insect targets. The diversity and complexity of these interactions in different insect groups are highlighted through several case studies, particularly in Lepidoptera and Coleoptera. This study aims to uncover the molecular mechanisms that affect the specificity of these interactions and explore their practical applications in pest management. The significance of this research is not only to promote the in-depth research of basic science, but also to guide the practice of agricultural pest management, especially in the development of new Bt biopesticides and the development of pest resistance management strategies.

Bt toxin; Insect receptor; Toxin-receptor interaction; Insect specificity; Pest management