Mechanism of insect resistance to the microbial insecticide Bacillus thuringiensis.

Receptor binding studies show that resistance of a laboratory-selected Plodia interpunctella strain to a Bacillus thuringiensis insecticidal crystal protein (ICP) is correlated with a 50-fold reduction in affinity of the membrane receptor for this protein. The strain is sensitive to a second type of ICP that apparently recognizes a different receptor. Understanding the mechanism of resistance will provide strategies to prevent or delay resistance and hence prolong the usefulness of B. thuringiensis ICPs as environmentally safe insecticides.