In Bombyx mori (B. mori), Fem piRNA originates from the W chromosome and is responsible for femaleness. The Fem piRNA-PIWI complex targets and cleaves mRNAs transcribed from the Masc gene. Masc encodes a novel CCCH type zinc-finger protein and is required for male-specific splicing of B. mori doublesex (Bmdsx) transcripts. In the present study, several silkworm strains carrying a transgene, whi...

Small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) modification (SUMOylation) is an important and widely used reversible modification system in eukaryotic cells. It regulates various cell processes, including protein targeting, transcriptional regulation, signal transduction, and cell division. To understand its role in the model lepidoptera insect Bombyx mori, a recombinant baculovirus was constructed to ex...

Serpins generally serve as inhibitors that utilize a mobile reactive center loop (RCL) as bait to trap protease targets. Here, we present the crystal structure of serpin18 from Bombyx mori at 1.65 Å resolution, which has a very short and stable RCL. Activity analysis showed that the inhibitory target of serpin18 is a cysteine protease rather than a serine protease. Notably, this inhibitiory rea...

cDNA clones encoding Bombyx mori alanyl-tRNA synthetase were isolated from a library in lambda gt11 using antibody, synthetic oligonucleotides, and a characterized cDNA as probes. Analysis of the sequence revealed significant homology between the B. mori and Escherichia coli alanyl-tRNA synthetases, particularly in their amino-terminal domains. Northern blot analysis indicated that the mRNA for...

1. A net absorption of a-aminoisobutyric acid (AIB) takes place in vitro in the midgut of two lepidopteran larvae, Philosamia cynthia Drury and Bombyx mori L. 2. lnP. cynthia the midgut epithelium accumulates AIB from the lumen, while in the same conditions AIB accumulation is not observed in B. mori midgut cells. 3. In P. cynthia, when the lumen is bathed with a low K solution, the net absorpt...

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There are few powerful techniques available to transfect insect tissues. We previously used biolistics to transfect Bombyx mori embryos, and larval and pupal tissues (Thomas J-L et al. 2001. Journal of Insect Science 1/9, Kravariti L et al. 2001. Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 31: 473-479). As the main limitation was the irregularity in results we explored electroporation as an alter...

BACKGROUND The vitellogenin receptor (VgR) mediates the uptake of vitellogenin (Vg) from the hemolymph by developing oocytes. RESULTS VgR with the mutational EGF1 domain can bind ligand proteins but cannot be dissociated under acidic conditions. The mutant is lethal in embryos. CONCLUSION Bombyx mori VgR (BmVgR) has an important role in egg formation and embryonic development. SIGNIFICANC...