Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is a spore-forming bacterium which is used as a biopesticide for the control of certain pest insects, with various varieties being lethal to the larval stages of the Orders Lepidoptera (caterpillars), Coleoptera (grubs of some beetles), and Diptera (larvae of mosquitos). The bacterium is found in the soil and on vegetation around the world, typically in the form of totally dormant spores that are highly resistant to environmental conditions including heat, UV light, and drying.
    The key to Bt's action lies in a bipyramidal crystal the bacterium forms as it enters sporulation. As the microbe faces starvation, chemical triggers inside cells shift its metabolism into survival mode. It is in the process of forming the resistant spore that the crystal is also made. The crystal is visible under the microscope, often comprising up to 30% of the dry weight of the cell. As the process is completed, both crystal and spore are released into the environment by the lysis of the "mother cell".
    During the past 25 years, an incredible amount of work was done to learn how this crystal kills insects, but little was done to learn the reason a crystal is made. I have always been more interested in why a living thing facing starvation would dedicate such a high percentage of its scarce resources to the production of a product of unknown personal value. I have gone against the grain to focus on the ecology of the microbe, looking for answers in its physiology and relationship with insects and its physical environment.
    Discoveries we've made include:
        1).That Bt spores are activated by the gut fluid of the insect, causing germination in the gut lumen.  The alkaline gut fluid is most critical, with only modest contribution coming from proteases.  This was fun work, as creating an artificial larval midgut fluid was necessary.
        2).That spores from Bt exist in two populations...those that require activation and those that are "auto-activated".  Auto-activated spores respond to germinants immediately.
        3).That modifying growth parameters causes changes in the size of spores and their resistances to heat, UV light, and harsh chemicals like octanol.
        4).That spores produced in the soil seem better adapted to germination and growth in insects, and that spores produced in insects seem better adapted to survival in the soil.
        5).That spore survival is influenced by the total amount of DNA in the spores.

    A second interest has always been bacterial ecology. Projects I've been involved with have focused on identification of bacteria from environmental sources or commensal relationships, and on the use of microbiology to solve environmental cleanup problems. These studies have included helping identify bacteria from the cloacal or skin glands of snakes and other reptiles, identifying bacteria associated with a fungus capable of killing flies, and helping companies solve petroleum-related problems via bioremediation.  There is never a shortage of environmentally-related projects for a microbiologist.

      Finally, my current administrative position keeps me from being very active in lab-based research. Because of this, my interest has shifted to production of materials for effective science teaching. I worked with two software engineers to produce VirtualUnknown^(TM) Microbiology, a simulation for teaching microbiology lab techniques and processes.  This software was bundled with Microbiology: An Introduction 7th Edition Media Update by Tortora, Funke, and Case (Benjamin Cummings).  As part of this process, I worked with Dr. Alan Neumann of Virginia on the Virtual Laboratory Guidebook, a laboratory manual that helps instructors see how they might incorporate the software into their classrooms and labs.  In May, 2000, I presented a paper at the Seventh Annual Conference on Undergraduate Education of the American Society for Microbiology describing the impact of the software on student learning in our microbiology course at McMurry (a course I was not teaching at that time!).  For a brief synopsis of the presentation, click here.  I also demonstrated the software at Slice of Life/Computers in Healthcare Education Symposium held at the University of Utah School of Medicine in June 2000.  Out of the 60 software packages demonstrated there, we received one of three awards for excellence. For the abstract from the presentation and demonstration I gave, click here.  Most recently, my programmer friends and I developed a new release (now version 3.11 SP2) that includes Gram positive cocci and has a tremendously improved tutorial and wider applicability.  In support of this, I wrote the new Basic Training Manual to allow students and faculty to use VUMicro™ for a multitude of topics in a microbiology course.  It is available free of charge.  This spring I also created a short version of the manual for faculty using the software for distance learning courses for nursing majors.  It is called Micro Lab Basics for VUMicro™ 3.11.

    Also, Dr. Tom Benoit of McMurry's Department of Biology and I are under contract to write three laboratory manuals for microbiology, and we also are planning a book for teaching the process of science to first-year college students of all majors.  The first of the lab manuals, Microbes in Context is in the hands of Star Publishing.   
 

Publications and Presentations

Benoit, T.G., and G.R. Wilson. 2007?.  Microbes in Context.  Laboratory manual submitted for publication to Star Publishing, Belmont , California .

Wilson , G.R., D.C. Arney, and S.F. Jones. 2006.  Invited Plenary Presentation:  “Leaders and Leadership”.  PKAL Leadership Seminar, Kansas City , MO.

Wilson , G.R.  2006.  Micro Lab Basics for VUMicro™ 3.11.  Intutive Systems, Inc., Abilene , Texas .  Course supplement manual used by junior colleges for delivery of online microbiology labs for nurses.

Wilson , G.R.  2003-2005.  Basic Training Manual.   Intuitive Systems, Inc., Abilene , Texas .  Course supplement guide for helping users integrate VirtualUnknown™ Microbiology 3.x into lectures and labs for microbiology courses.

"Immune Wars". 2002 © Clifford Houston, Gary Wilson, Albert Rhodes, Maura Meade, and Jaclynn Laxon, authors.  Licensed for use, ASM MicrobeLibrary.org (a peer-reviewed Curriculum Resource on the website of the American Society for Microbiology).

Wilson, G.R. 2002. Virtual Exercises for Lecture and Lab. Intuitive Systems, Inc. Plano, Texas.

Wilson, G.R. 2001. End-of-chapter exercises entitled "Learning with Technology" in Fundamentals of Microbiology 7th Edition Media Update by Tortora, Funke, and Case, published by Benjamin Cummings.

Wilson, G.R., and A.J. Neumann. 2000. Virtual Laboratory Guidebook^TM.  Intuitive Systems, Inc. Plano, Texas.