Plasmid transformation of Bacillus sphaericus 1593

Plasmids pUB110 and pBC16 were introduced by protoplast transformation into the entomocidal bacterium Bacillus sphaericus 1593. Transformants expressed the antibiotic resistance determinants present on the plasmid and exhibited sporulation frequencies and larvicidal toxicities which were equivalent to those characteristic of the parent strain. These transformations constitute the first report of genetic transfer in B. sphaericus.