ABSTRACT
The tools of biotechnology offer tremendous opportunity for the exploitation of microorganisms, genes, and gene products to improve crop productivity and to enhance crop protection. This chapter focuses on a number of genetically engineered microorganisms that have been evaluated or proposed as potential crop protection products. The range of microorganisms include phyllosphere bacteria, rhizosphere bacteria, endophytic bacteria, entomopathogenic bacteria, and viruses. Baculoviruses lacking polyhedra may be an advantageous approach for innovative application and contained delivery of a highly active, biopesticidal gene product. Delta-endotoxins are produced by a range of closely related Bacillus thuringiensis subspecies which may naturally exchange genetic information. Because of this close interspecific relatedness, little difference in environmental behavior is anticipated in a strain genetically engineered to produce a single insecticidal protein and influences the degree of environmental monitoring required.
