• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.79-89
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• 2023

This paper is about the development results of an automatic silkworm breeding system to reduce labor and time by automatically performing the works for silkworm droppings changing and feed its food. It consists of an automatic guided vehicle and a processing unit. The automatic guided vehicle transports a silkworm dropping changing frame mounted on a silkworm tray stand, and the processing unit takes over the dropping changing frame on it, removes excrement contained the droppings changing frame and feeds silkworm food. In the case of the current silkworm farming, because the breeding period for large silkworms (4 to 5 stage) is short to 14 days and the supply of mulberry leaves takes 98% of the total amount of mulberry leaves needed for breeding silkworms at this time, labor concentration is intensive, and all breeding works depends on manpower. Therefore, it was difficult to breed large silkworms on a large scale. Moreover, silkworms are bred by adding Silkworm bed (Seop) and mulberry in the silkworm tray, and their droppings changing is to separate silkworms and excrement by moving silkworm trays one by one, and the production cost increases due to the high-cost manpower for silkworm breeding. To solve this problem, technology for automating silkworm breeding has also been developed. However, there is still a limitation that silkworm feeding and droppings changing works are not suitable for mass breeding because a lot of labor and time are spent depending on manual work. Therefore, a new silkworm breeding system for breeding silkworm automatically is needed and so we developed an Automatic Silkworm Breeding System applying the droppings change frame, the inverting unit, the feeding silkworm food device and automatic guided vehicle.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.21-27
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• 2003

Manifestation of heterotic genetic interaction was studied in different hybrids made between multivoltine recurrent backcross (RBL)/congenic lines (Con. L) during unfavourable season when temperature and relative humidity are > $30^{\circ}C$ and 86%, respectively. A few number of silkworm race or strain or breed like Nistari (N ＋ p or Np) can sustain the temperature above 3$0^{\circ}C$ and RH above 86%. The present heterosis study screened a hybrid i.e., CB$_{5}$Lm5RBL1M$_{6}$DPC-LmE$^1$RBL and its reciprocal provided heterobeltiotic effect on survival by number and pupation rate at a magnitude of 20% (p < 0.01) and yield by weight of 10% (p < 0.01). Beside all the hybrids expressed heterosis over check - Nistari (N ＋ p) with better quality silk. Therefore, aforesaid hybrid may be useful for utilization at commercial level during adverse seasons of West Bengal.gal.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.119-124
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• 2005

To determine the level of heterosis, higher cocoon shell weight multivoltine congenic lines (Con. L) and bivoltine syngenic lines (Syn. L) of silkworm were used for crosses. First filial generations $(F_1s)$ expressed heterobeltiotic genetic interaction at significant magnitude (p < 0.01) for single cocoon shell weight (SCSW). The other linked characters viz., single cocoon weight (SCW) and yield by weight per 10, 000 larvae were also significantly higher (p < 0.01) than the better parental lines. All the hybrids showed significant improvement for these aforesaid characters over standard heterosis (Standard check). The reeling parameters viz., filament length, raw silk, neatness, cohesionstrokes etc, also showed improvement among the hybrids than check in congenial environment. Overall results suggested that the cross between congenic and syngenic lines provide better heterosis with good quality silk than conventional hybrids and may be used for commercial exploitation.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.129-132
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• 2001

Biometabolic assessment was made in early and late embryonic stage (just before hatching) of one poly, one bi and their hybrids (DP, YPe, DP ${\times} Ype, and YPe ${\times} DP respectively ) of Bombyx mori to observe the racial differences. Protein and nucleic acid (RNA and DNA) concentrations were recorded to be significantly higher in bivoltine breed (YPe) and also in the hybrid than the polyvoltine (DP) strain in both the stages of embryonic development. The single egg weight of polyvoltine race was lower as compared to that of bivoltine and the hybrid studied. Age specific changes in all the biomolecules were evident where protein and RNA concentrations were elevated sharply in prehatched larvae while in case of DNA it was observed to be just reverse. The differences in protein, RNA and DNA composition between breeds and hybrids reflect the racial variations in biometabolic demands responsible for differential growth and development of the breeds and hybrids.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.115-126
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• 2015

The tropical climate prevailing in India adversely affects temperate bivoltine silkworm rearing and causes crop loss especially during summer. Identification of high temperature tolerant bivoltine breeds by screening for thermotolerance in the silkworm, Bombyx mori (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae) is an essential prerequisite for the development of thermotolerant bivoltine breeds / hybrids. Therefore, in this study, 20 silkworm breeds were reared at different temperatures (25 ± 1℃,32 ± 1℃, 34 ± 1℃ and 36 ± 1℃) for 6 h every day from 3^rd d of 5^th instar to till spinning. Significant differences (p < 0.01) were found among all the rearing traits over temperature. Based on pupation percentage, SK4C and BHR3 were identified as thermotolerant bivoltine breeds. Hierarchical clustering analysis based on rearing traits at tested temperatures grouped 20 silkworm breeds in four clusters which included one cluster each of susceptible and tolerant, and two clusters of moderately tolerant silkworm breeds. This suggests that clustering based on rearing data at high temperatures by using Euclidean distance can be an effective approach in classifying the silkworm breeds on their thermotolerance capacity. The identified breeds would be used for development of thermo tolerant bivoltine silkworm breeds / hybrids.

• Journal of Sericultural and Entomological Science
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.10-15
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• 1995

Genetic characterization of Sri Lankan silkworm bivoltine population has not been at-tempted so far, since its sporadic introduction of bivoltine strains into the island, starting from the 1950's. Genetic structure of Sri Lankan population of mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori was investigated through estimation of general (GCA) and specific combining ability(SCA) and heritability(${h^2}_B$), on the economic quantitative characters from leading 8 inbreds and their 28 F1's in a half diallel cross, in an attempt to utilize the estimates in determination of future breeding methods and to predict the breeding value over the phenotypic value. It was found that the breeding population of the bivoltine silkworm in Sri Lanka has still maintained considerable amounts of additive gene action as well as nonadditive. For some time in the future, both breeding strategies of "selection without inbreeding" and also "inbreeding followed by crossing" should therefore be effective in genetic improvement of economic characters investigated. In addition, superior combiners in general and in specific F1′s were identified for each of 6 economic characters, to be immediately utilized in selection and also in cross breeding programs in Sri Lanka.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.249-253
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• 2009

Raily ecorace of Indian tasar silkworm is wild in nature and distributed abundantly in dense deciduous forest on Shorea robusta (Sal) in Bastar ($17^{\circ}4'$ and $20^{\circ}34'$ N, $80^{\circ}15'$ and $82^{\circ}15'$ E and altitude ranging from 150 to 1200 mMSL) forest ranges of Chhattisgarh, India. It is represented by about 20 populations. Out of those, eleven populations showed intra- as well as inter- population variability based on phenotypic expression and also in major economic traits viz. cocoon weight, shell weight, filament length and denier. Genetic diversity in these eleven populations was studied using Inter-Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) markers. The band profiles generated with eight ISSR primers have depicted variation in band size. All the primers exhibited polymorphism which is an indicative of the genetic variation in individual Raily silkworm. Among the populations, total polymorphism recorded was 76%. The population genetic aspects assessed through POPGENE software package are discussed in the paper. Nei's gene diversity (h) ranged from 0.194 to 0.337 exhibiting high heterozygosity. Relevance of the present study is of high significance in formulating conservation strategies and sustainable utilization of the economically important Raily ecorace of Antheraea mylitta.

• Journal of Sericultural and Entomological Science
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.97-104
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• 1998

Mainly due to limited genetic resources available and also urgent need for hybrids suitable to local conditions, conventional theories and regular methods for bivoltine silkworm breeding are not easily applicable in such a tropical country as Sri Lanka which is recently planning to scale-up the silk industry. A simplified but practical methodology was introduced to overcome such constraints. Through application of such modified informal breeding methods, two hybrids named DP0308 and DP0314 were selected for cocoon production. Details of the altered method of germplasm improvement in the silkworm are presented, along with combining ability and heritability estimates for six parental pure lines in a half-diallel cross.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.107-110
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• 2001

Variations in protein and nucleic acid concentrations were observed in 24 hrs old eggs and hatched larvae of Nistari strain, Bombyx mori, exposed to starvation. Three starvation treatments of 24,48 and 60 hrs were given separately from 0 hr old fifth instar larvae. Biochemical variations were studied in the resultant hatched larvae of one time starved parent, while the eggs obtained from parents receiving starvation in two successive generations were considered for the study. In hatched larvae, protein levers in 24 hrs starvation groups remained significantly higher over control (never starved) while the same was found to be lower in 48 and 60 hrs starvation individuals. The RNA concentration remained significantly higher in all the treated lots. However, DNA content was not found to be significantly altered in hatched larvae after exposure to feeding stress. Protein, RNA and DNA concentration of 24 hrs old eggs produced by all the starved groups of Nistari, which had deceived two consecutive starvation during parental generations, showed higher concentrations of these biomolecules over control. Hence, starvation induced alterations in protein and nucleic acids in eggs and hatched Iarvae are indicative of a preparatory phase adopted by the insect to acclimatise itself and its progeny to stress situations.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.14-21
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• 2019

Genome editing by CRISPR/Cas9, a third-generation gene scissor in molecular breeding at the genome level, is attracting much attention as one of the breeding techniques of the future. In this study, genetic and phenotypic analysis was used to examine the responsiveness of the Bakokjam variety of the silkworm Bombyx mori to molecular breeding using CRISPR/Cas9 in editing the white egg 2 (w-2) gene. The nucleotide sequence of the w-2 gene was analyzed and three different guide RNAs (gRNA) were prepared. The synthesized gRNA was combined with Cas9 protein and then analyzed by T7 endonuclease I after introduction into the Bm-N silkworm cell line. To edit the silkworm gene, W1N and W2P gRNA and Cas9 complexes were microinjected into silkworm embryos. Based on the results of microinjection, the hatching rate was 16-24% and the incidence of mutation was 33-37%. The gene mutation was verified in the heterozygous F1 generation, but no phenotypic change was observed. In F2 homozygotes generated by F1 self-crosses, a mutant phenotype was observed. These results suggest that silkworm molecular breeding using the CRISPR/Cas9 system is possible and will be a very effective way to shorten the time required than the traditional breeding process.