Genetic and genomic contexts of toxin genes

This chapter focuses primarily on the genomic distribution (plasmid vs chromosome) and the genetic environments of the different toxin genes found in entomopathogenic bacteria, mainly in Bacillus thuringiensis and Bacillus sphaericus. A special attention is brought to their association with mobile genetic elements (Insertion Sequences, Transposons and conjugative plasmids) and their possible clustering to other, more generic, virulence factors, in the scope of genome variability and plasticity through gene transfer and rearrangements.