Biosafety analysis of the Bacillus pumilus 15.1 strain through a Caenorhabditis elegans pathogenicity assay

Abstract: Using a Caenorhabditis elegans pathogenicity assay we evaluated the biosafety of the B. pumilus 15.1 strain, a recently isolated bacteria active against larvae of the Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis capitata. In the study we evaluated the toxicity of this strain toward the nematode together with other B. pumilus strains and compared its toxicity with a non pathogenic strain (Escherichia coli OP50) and a pathogenic one (Burkholderia cepacia). After this study, we concluded that B. pumilus 15.1 is a safe strain and could not represent a problem to be used as a biological control agent.