The addition of 3-methyl benzoate to the culture of the recombinant strain Pseudomonas putida IPM-36 (bearing the cryIIIA gene of B. thuringiensis subsp, tenebrionis under the control of the Pm promoter and the regulator gene xylS) slowed down the growth rate of the recombinant strain and increased, under non-selective conditions, the number of plasmid-free cells. Intense synthesis of the Coleoptera-specific delta-endotoxin encoded by the cryIIIA gene began 6-8 h after the addition of the inducer 3-methyl benzoate, no matter whether it was added in the early or late logarithmic phase. Maximal production of endotoxin (0.5-0.6 g/l) was observed when the inducer was added in the early logarithmic phase (3 h of growth). Overproduction of delta-endotoxin impaired cell division, so that filamentous cells became predominant in the culture. delta-Endotoxin accumulated in overproducing cells as irregular crystalloid inclusions.