Whole-genome sequence of a Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. aizawai strain BLB250 isolated from the rhizosphere soil of an olive tree in Tunisia and exhibiting insecticidal activity

This study reports the whole‑genome shotgun sequencing (WGS) of a Bacillus thuringiensis
strain BLB250 isolated from olive tree rhizosphere soils in Tunisia and having a promising
insecticidal activity. Previous analyses of this strain, by plasmid and profiling analogy with the
reference strain HD133, revealed its assignment as an aizawai subspecies. It produces
bipyramidal and cubical crystals, which is in accordance with its content of cry1 and cry2
genes, revealed by PCR amplification. The membership of BLB250 in the Bacillus cereus
group, and more specifically the B. thuringiensis genus, was determined by combining the
genomic analysis (using ANI and MLST classification) and the conventional taxonomy. The
total size of the genome is 6.37 Mb, assembled into 231 contigs, with a contig N50 of 73.67
kb. Its genomic GC content was determined to be 34.72%. These data will provide a useful
resource for future studies on the biocontrol mechanism of this promising B. thuringiensis
strain to be used for agricultural pest management.