Microbial control agents project

The Bacillus thuringiensis toxin specificity database

The ongoing discovery of new B.t. toxin genes and rapid accumulation of information on their insecticidal activities has prompted us to construct a relational database on B.t. toxin specificity to make this information accessible in a searchable format.

In its current form, the database includes published data on insecticidal activity of toxins that are included in the List of B.t. delta-endotoxin genes maintained by Neil Crickmore on behalf of the delta-endotoxin nomenclature committee. The database is limited to spore-free preparations of crystal proteins or toxins that were bioassayed individually (i.e., cloned gene products or toxins purified from single gene strains). Genetically altered toxin proteins are not included (with the exception of minor modifications to enhance expression or protein stability, e.g. cry9Ca1).

The database links effective dose estimates for the toxin proteins with information on various factors which may affect toxicity. Those factors include the host used for toxin gene expression, how the protein inclusions were purified, if and how the toxins were activated, solubilized or purified, the method used for toxin protein quantification, the species and stage of the insect that were bioassayed, the type of bioassay used, general bioassay conditions, and parameter used to assess toxicity. You can find a full description of the Database categories on this web site.

The information was integrated into four main tables (reference, toxin preparation, insect, and bioassay), using Microsoft Access. The tables were then published on the Internet using Allaire ColdFusion and Oracle. This software allows the end-user to make plain language queries and follow hypertext links in your quest to retrieve the desired information, the same way ones uses a web browser search engine. A short tutorial on how to use the database has been provided to get you started.

The database will be updated regularly as new information gets published. We make the commitment to maintain the database as a service to researchers, industry and regulatory agencies around the world. In return, you can help by:

  • sending us reprints of your publications
  • making available your unpublished toxin specificity data: please use the Toxin specificity information sheet for this purpose.
  • citing our web site whenever you use it to extract information for publications.

The correct format for doing so is:

van Frankenhuyzen, K. and C. Nystrom
"The Bacillus thuringiensis toxin specificity database" (2002)
http://www.glfc.cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/bacillus (date site accessed)

Please let us know about any problems, errors, or inaccuracies you encounter and how you would like to see it improved.

Contact: Kees van Frankenhuyzen

The Bacillus thuringiensis toxin specificity database
Toxin specificity database categories

Project status

  • On-going