The presence of two cry-like genes first identified in Clostridium bifermentans subsp, malaysia CH18 was investigated in Clostridium species including 12 subspecies of Clostridium bifermentans, 13 strains of other members of Clostridia genus, and 13 different subspecies of Bacillus thuringiensis. Oligonucleotides designed to amplify the two toxin genes, cmb71 and cmb72, were used. We found that these genes are present in 80%, of the Clostridium bifermentans strains tested and in 8% of the other Clostridium and Bacillus thuringiensis strains.