Analysis of the active principle in the biological insecticide Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner

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Abstract
Summary: A detailed analysis of the toxic principle of the biological insecticide, the crystals of B. thuringiensis, is given. Almost all (96.1%) of the nitrogen in the crystals, but only about 85% of the weight, is accounted for by amino acids. the imino acid, proline, is absent. A non‐nitrogenous fraction, accounting for 12% of the dry weight of the crystals, has been separated by dissolving the polypeptide part in dilute alkali. the non‐nitrogenous fraction is largely carbohydrate, and the crystals are probably composed of glycoprotein.The insolubility of the crystals cannot be fully explained by reference solely to the amino acid composition, and it is suggested that the carbohydrate moiety makes a contribution to the insolubility.