Canadian Forest Service Publications

Study of the survival of Bacillus thuringiensis var. thuringiensis Berliner in the digestive tracts and in feces of a small mammal and birds. 1961. Smirnoff, W.A.; MacLeod, C.F. J. Insect Pathol. 3(3): 266-270.

Year: 1961

Issued by: Laurentian Forestry Centre

Catalog ID: 15973

Language: English

Availability: PDF (request by e-mail)

Mark record

Abstract

A series of experiments carried out in 1959-60 showed that Bacillus thuringiensis var. thuringiensis Berliner has no toxic effect on certain birds and a mammal. The bacillus can be recovered from the feces of animals to which it has been fed, and it remains viable and unaffected by the digestive processes to which it has been exposed. When cultured on nutrient agar its growth characteristics remain unchanged and tests indicate that it retains its pathogenicity. These results suggest that birds and mammals can function as disseminators of this disease organism in nature.