Use of an Agar-Base Diet and House Fly Larvae to Assay β-Exotoxin Activity of Bacillus thuringiensis1

Abstract

An agar-base diet and procedure were developed for assaying activity of β-exotoxin preparations of Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner against larvae of the house fly, Musca domestica L. Activity of β-exotoxin was previously assayed using livestock feces (Dunn 1960, Galichet 1966), bran-based media (Hall and Arakawa 1959, Briggs 1960, Harvey and Howell 1965), a blend of condensed milk and yeast (Cantwell et al. 1964), and β-exotoxin-impregnated filter paper (Louloudes 1969). Benz (1966) and Benz and Perron (1967) used an agar-base diet to assay β-exotoxin activity against neonate Drosophila larvae.