ABSTRACT
Many bacterial species inhabit bodies of insects to behave as insect pathogens by evolving a multiplicity of strategies to invade the hosts, overcome its immune responses, infect and kill them. As an insecticide, they are generally specific to individual species of moths and butterflies, as well as species of beetles, flies and mosquitoes. To be effective they must come into contact with the target pest and may require ingestion to be effective. After a few decades of research on microbial pest management dominated by Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), novel bacterial species with innovative modes of action are being discovered and developed into new products. The mass of entomopathogenic bacteria is in genera Coccobacillus, Xenorhabdus, Serratia, Photorhabdus, Burkholderia, Chromobacterium, Paenibacillus, Brevibacillus, Clostridium, Photorhabdus, Serratia, Yersinia, Pseudomonas, Chromobacterium, Streptomyces, Saccharopolyspora and Bacillus, having multiple modes of action and target to mite and insect pests of different orders. Bacteria Coccobacillusacridiorum produces disease in grasshoppers, while Bacillus thuringiensis and Bacillus popillia are important disease-causing agents against lepidopteran pests. These bacteria could be one of the major sources of potential microbial biopesticides because they retain several valuable traits.
