---
res:
  bibo_abstract:
  - Reproduction within a host and transmission to the next host are crucial for the
    virulence and fitness of pathogens. Nevertheless, basic knowledge about such parameters
    is often missing from the literature, even for well-studied bacteria, such as
    Bacillus thuringiensis, an endospore-forming insect pathogen, which infects its
    hosts via the oral route. To characterize bacterial replication success, we made
    use of an experimental oral infection system for the red flour beetle Tribolium
    castaneum and developed a flow cytometric assay for the quantification of both
    spore ingestion by the individual beetle larvae and the resulting spore load after
    bacterial replication and resporulation within cadavers. On average, spore numbers
    increased 460-fold, showing that Bacillus thuringiensis grows and replicates successfully
    in insect cadavers. By inoculating cadaver-derived spores and spores from bacterial
    stock cultures into nutrient medium, we next investigated outgrowth characteristics
    of vegetative cells and found that cadaver- derived bacteria showed reduced growth
    compared to bacteria from the stock cultures. Interestingly, this reduced growth
    was a consequence of inhibited spore germination, probably originating from the
    host and resulting in reduced host mortality in subsequent infections by cadaver-derived
    spores. Nevertheless, we further showed that Bacillus thuringiensis transmission
    was possible via larval cannibalism when no other food was offered. These results
    contribute to our understanding of the ecology of Bacillus thuringiensis as an
    insect pathogen.@eng
  bibo_authorlist:
  - foaf_Person:
      foaf_givenName: Barbara
      foaf_name: Milutinovic, Barbara
      foaf_surname: Milutinovic
      foaf_workInfoHomepage: http://www.librecat.org/personId=2CDC32B8-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
    orcid: 0000-0002-8214-4758
  - foaf_Person:
      foaf_givenName: Christina
      foaf_name: Höfling, Christina
      foaf_surname: Höfling
  - foaf_Person:
      foaf_givenName: Momir
      foaf_name: Futo, Momir
      foaf_surname: Futo
  - foaf_Person:
      foaf_givenName: Jörn
      foaf_name: Scharsack, Jörn
      foaf_surname: Scharsack
  - foaf_Person:
      foaf_givenName: Joachim
      foaf_name: Kurtz, Joachim
      foaf_surname: Kurtz
  bibo_doi: 10.1128/AEM.02051-15
  bibo_issue: '23'
  bibo_volume: 81
  dct_date: 2015^xs_gYear
  dct_identifier:
  - UT:000364775700018
  dct_language: eng
  dct_publisher: American Society for Microbiology@
  dct_title: 'Infection of Tribolium castaneum with Bacillus thuringiensis: Quantification
    of bacterial replication within cadavers, transmission via cannibalism, and inhibition
    of spore germination@'
  fabio_hasPubmedId: '26386058'
...