Bacillus thuringiensis

American  

[thoo-rin-jee-en-sis] / θʊˌrɪn dʒiˈɛn sɪs /

noun

1. a bacterium used in genetically altered form in the biological control of budworms, gypsy moth larvae, Japanese beetles, and other insect pests. B.t.

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Etymology

Origin of Bacillus thuringiensis

< New Latin (1915): Thuringian bacillus; so named in reference to its discovery in larvae of Mediterranean flour moths from a mill in Thuringia

Example Sentences

The introduction of Bt corn, which contains a gene from Bacillus thuringiensis, a naturally insect-resistant bacterium that organic farmers routinely spray on crops, dropped the crop’s insecticide use by 35 percent.

From New York Times • Jul. 20, 2021

Organic pest maintenance in the garden requires frequent reapplication of products like neem oil or Bacillus thuringiensis.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 27, 2021

It contains a bacterium called Bacillus thuringiensis, or Bt, that wards off insect larvae.

From Reuters • Dec. 8, 2017

Meanwhile, last year, Greenpeace published a catalog of “exemplary” agriculture, in which it celebrated a Spanish farm where “the use of Bacillus thuringiensis is being expanded to a greater cultivated surface area.”

From Slate • Jul. 14, 2015

Compounds containing spores of Bacillus thuringiensis are now being manufactured by several firms in the United States under various trade names.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson