Bt Research 2025, Vol.16, No.2, 70-78 http://microbescipublisher.com/index.php/bt 75 Figure 2 The effect of Bt on organisms within the natural ecosystems (Adopted from Belousova et al., 2021) Image caption: Black arrows indicate possible detrimental effects; green arrows denote possible beneficial effects. Solid arrows denote direct effects; dotted arrows stand for indirect effects. Black wavy arrows indicate Bt transfer through plant tissues (Adopted from Belousova et al., 2021) 7.2 Complexity in linking genotypes to ecological functions The relationship between the genotype of Bt and its ecological functions is also very complex. Bt strains of different genotypes vary greatly in toxin genes, plasmids and functional expressions. However, the connections between these genetic characteristics and actual ecological functions (such as virulence to a certain insect and environmental adaptability) are often unclear, and the correlations are not high (Navya et al., 2021; Yilmaz et al., 2024). Some studies have even found that the relationship among sampling sites, genotypes and insecticidal activity is very weak, suggesting that environmental factors, gene expression regulation and microecological interaction may jointly affect the ecological function of Bt (Da Costa Fernandes et al., 2021) 7.3 Need for integrative multi-omics and ecological modeling To gain a thorough understanding of the genetic diversity and population structure of Bt, it is necessary to combine multi-omics data (genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, metabolomic) and conduct systematic modeling in conjunction with ecological environment data. At present, many studies still only look at things at the single molecular level, lacking comprehensive analysis of gene expression, protein function and ecological adaptability (Sorokan et al., 2023). In addition, the multi-dimensional interaction mechanisms between Bt and plant, insect, and microbial communities have not been fully modeled, which limits our comprehensive understanding of its ecological role and biocontrol risks (Biggel et al., 2022; Rabha et al., 2023). In the future, it is necessary to develop high-resolution, multi-omics combined with ecological modeling methods to reveal the formation mechanism and ecological functions of Bt diversity. 8 Concluding Remarks Bt is distributed in many ecosystems around the world, with high genetic diversity and a complex population structure. Soil, plants, animal intestines and other environments all provide different ecological niches for the survival and evolution of Bt. Research has found that the genotypes of Bt and toxin genes are widely distributed across different regions and ecosystems, and the diversity within the same region is often greater than the differences between regions. This indicates that ecological factors and geographical isolation jointly promote the genetic differentiation of Bt. Biofilm environments, plant rhizosphere and biological surfaces can also promote the
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