Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A soil bacterium (Bacillus thuringiensis) that produces proteins toxic to certain insects. It has been used as an insecticide, and genes for the toxins have been incorporated into genetically modified crop plants to control insect pests.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[From New Latin B(acillus) t(huringiēnsis), species name.]

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