Bacillus thuringiensis toxins active against hymenopteran pests

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The subject invention concerns novel Bacillus thuringiensis (B.
t.
) isolates and genes therefrom which encode novel hymenopteran-active proteins.
The novel B.
t.
isolates, known herein as Bacillus thuringiensis PS140E2 (B.
t.
PS140E2), Bacillus thuringiensis PS86Q3 (B.
t.
PS86Q3) and Bacillus thuringiensis PS211B2 (B.
t.
PS211B2), as well as toxins from these isolates, can be used to control pests such as fire ants, carpenter ants, argentine ants, and pharaoh ants.
The subject invention also includes mutants of the above isolates which have substantially the same pesticidal properties as the parent isolate.
Procedures for making mutants are well known in the microbiological art.
Ultraviolet light and nitrosoguanidine are used extensively toward this end.
The subject invention also concerns novel toxins active against ants.
A further aspect of the invention concerns genes encoding these formicidal toxins.
The subject invention provides the person skilled in this art with a vast array of formicidal toxins, methods for using these toxins, and genes that encode the toxins.
The genes or gene fragments of the invention encode Bacillus thuringiensis .
delta.
-endotoxins which have hymenopteran activity.
The genes or gene fragments can be transferred to suitable hosts via a recombinant DNA vector.
One aspect of the invention is the discovery of a generalized chemical formula common to a wide range of formicidal toxins.
This formula can be used by those skilled in this art to obtain and identify a wide variety of toxins having the desired formicidal activity.
The subject invention provides other teachings which enable the skilled practitioner to identify and isolate ant-active toxins and the genes which code therefor.
For example, characteristic features of ant-active toxin crystals are disclosed herein.
Furthermore, characteristic levels of amino acid homology can be used to characterize the toxins of the subject invention.
Yet another characterizing feature pertains to immunoreactivity of the toxins with certain antibodies