Molluscicidal activity of Bacillus thuringiensis strains against Biomphalaria alexandrina snails

Schistosomiasis is a parasitic disease transmitted to man and different warm blooded animals by means of snails. Great effort has been made to control the transmission of the disease by many strategies. Consequently, the utilization of particular molluscicides is viewed as a standout amongst the best measures for molluscs control. Recently, microbial pathogen used as non-traditional molluscicides which have attracted significant research attention due to the increasing, worldwide development of resistance to chemical molluscicides in molluscs populations. The present work aimed to study the molluscicidal impacts of eleven isolates of Bacillus thuringiensis which were isolated from soils of six Egyptian governorates toward Biomphalaria alexandrina snails. Results showed that, B. thuringiensis provides an effective biological control agent against B. alexandrina snails. Out of the tested isolates, four isolates; Qalyubia, Asyut 1, Qena and North Sinai 2 isolates show high-level molluscicidal activity. The obtained results indicated that LC50 and LC90 values were ranged between 133.27-457.74 mg/mL and 270.32-781.05 mg/mL, respectively. The most noteworthy molluscicidal impact was displayed by Qalyubia isolate which isolated from Qalyubia governorate with mortality rate extended from 20% to100% at five treatment concentrations of 100-500 mg/mL. The LC50 and LC90 values for Qalyubia isolate were 133.27 mg/mL and 270.32 mg/mL, respectively.