Hemocyte-specific Promoter for the Development of Transgenic Silkworm, Bombyx mori

In previous studies we have shown that a sw17255 gene was expressed in hemocyte-specific tissues of the silkworm, Bombyx mori L. (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae). It was verified that the sw17255 core promoter region contains elements that regulate the expression of this gene in hemocyte tissue; the selected promoter region spans nucleotides -1 to -2,112 upstream of the start codon. Each of the luciferase reporter gene expression vectors under the control of 4 different kinds of promoter candidates, (-2,112/-1), (-1,640/-1), (-1,169/-1) and (-579/-1), and the control reporter plasmid DNA, were introduced into B. mori larval coelom by direct injection using a syringe. The promoter candidate [E] (-579/-1) showed more than 1.67 fold transcriptional activity compared to control promoter activity. Higher productivity of an expressed gene in the transgenic silkworm by this promoter combination could be achieved in the near future. The foreign recombinant protein could be easily harvested from the blood of the transgenic silkworm.