Bt Research 2025, Vol.16, No.3, 103-109 http://microbescipublisher.com/index.php/bt 103 Feature Review Open Access Bt Bioengineering for Enhanced Environmental Stability and Persistence Xiaoyan Chen1, QibinXu2 1 Modern Agricultural Research Center, Cuixi Academy of Biotechnology, Zhuji, 311800, Zhejiang, China 2 Animal Science Research Center, Cuixi Academy of Biotechnology, Zhuji, 311800, Zhejiang, China Corresponding author: qibin.xu@cuixi.org Bt Research, 2025, Vol.16, No.3 doi: 10.5376/bt.2025.16.0013 Received: 05 Apr., 2025 Accepted: 16 May, 2025 Published: 06 Jun., 2025 Copyright © 2025 Chen and Xu, This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Preferred citation for this article: Chen X.Y., and Xu Q.B., 2025, Bt bioengineering for enhanced environmental stability and persistence, Bt Research, 16(3): 103-109 (doi: 10.5376/bt.2025.16.0013) Abstract This review mainly discusses some new advancements of Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) in bioengineering, with the focus on how to make it more stable and last longer in the environment. Bt protein is a common component of biopesticides and is often used in genetically modified crops because it has a good insecticidal effect and is more environmentally friendly. However, it decomposes very quickly in the field environment and is not easy to maintain its function for a long time, which affects its practical application and the assessment of environmental risks. In recent years, many methods have been tried, such as nanotechnology, embedding methods, and molecular modification. All these methods can make Bt protein more resistant to degradation and more stable and durable under adverse conditions such as ultraviolet rays and temperature changes. This article reviews the detection methods, degradation mechanisms and improvement ideas for the performance of Bt protein in the environment, and also compares the influence of different techniques on its stability. Finally, we hope that through these studies, we can provide references and new directions for the application of Bt in future sustainable agriculture. Keywords Bt protein; Bioengineering; Environmental stability; Persistence; Nano-encapsulation 1 Introduction Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is a common soil bacterium that can produce insecticidal proteins, such as Cry toxin. These proteins have good insecticidal effects, strong targeting, and relatively little harm to non-target organisms. Therefore, they are widely used in genetically modified crops and biopesticides (Jalali et al., 2023). With the increasing use of Bt crops, people have begun to pay attention to the destination of Bt proteins in the environment and how long they can remain, as this is an important issue in ecological security assessment. Research has found that the decomposition rate of Bt protein in soil and crop residues is influenced by many factors. In some cases, it can remain in the environment for several months or even longer (Deng et al., 2019). However, under natural conditions, ultraviolet rays, temperature and microorganisms all accelerate its decomposition, resulting in a decrease in the activity of Bt protein and weakening its field control effect (Jalali et al., 2023). At present, the insufficient stability and persistence of Bt protein in the environment have become the main difficulties in its field application and ecological safety assessment. On the one hand, the Bt protein in crop residues degrades too quickly, which will reduce the continuous control effect on pests. On the other hand, the existing detection methods may also overestimate its existence time in the environment (Deng et al., 2019). In addition, there are many controversies regarding the decomposition products of Bt proteins in the environment and the long-term effects of these products on non-target organisms. This review mainly summarizes the new progress made in Bt bioengineering in improving environmental stability and persistence in recent years, especially the enhanced effects of new technologies such as nano-encapsulation and material modification on the stability and field performance of Bt proteins. At the same time, the current research methods on the environmental behavior of Bt proteins will also be reviewed, the main problems will be pointed out, and the future development directions will be looked forward to. This review is based on the collation and analysis of recent literature, aiming to provide some theoretical support and technical references for the sustainable application and ecological security assessment of Bt.
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