Bacillus thuringiensis is the most widely used biological pesticide in the world. It belongs to the Bacillus cereus sensu lato group, which contains six species. Among these six species, B. thuringiensis, B. anthracis, and B. cereus have a low genetic diversity. B. thuringiensis strain HD521 shows maroon colony which is different from most of the B. thuringiensis strains. Strain HD521 also displays an ability to inhibit plant sheath blight disease pathogen (Rhizoctonia solani AG1 IB) growth and can form bipyramidal parasporal crystals consisting of three cry7 genes. These crystals have an insecticidal activity against Henosepilachna vigintioctomaculata larva (Coleoptera). Here we report the complete genome sequence of strain HD521, which has one chromosome and six circular plasmids.
Keywords: Bacillus thuringiensis; Gapless chromosome; Genomic feature; Parasporal crystal protein.