• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.203-208
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• 2003

Rearing temperature influences food consumption, conversion and cocoon production in silkworm Bombyx mori L. Young age $({1^st}to{3^rd} instar)$ worms of Pure Mysore, a multivoltine were reared at 26, 28, 30 and $32^{\circ}C$ followed by combinations of these temperature levels during late age $({4^th} and {5^th} instar)$. Food consumption, conversion, larval duration and growth for each instar were recorded. The influence of combinations of these temperature levels during rearing on survival and cocoon production was assessed. Food consumption increased with the temperature up to $4^th$ instar and decreased during $5^th$ instar. Temperature beyond $28^{\circ}C$ during young age followed by higher temperature ($30^{\circ}C$ and above) has shown deleterious effect on cocoon production. The paper discusses the rearing performance in relation to food intake and conversion under the tested temperature levels.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2005

Parthenogenesis in mulberry silkworm, Bombyx mori L. acquires immense use in the development of outstanding homozygous lines with higher viability, hybrid vigour, combining ability and less phenotypic variability. It can serve as a powerful tool in controlling sex of the offsprings as well as a useful tool in selection. In fact India is the second largest silk producing country in the world next only to China and all the five types of natural silks viz., mulberry, oak tasar, tropical tasar, muga and eri are produced in India. However, little information is available on the role of artificial parthenogenesis in the development of superior silkworm breeds. This paper overviews some important studies carried out on artificial parthenogenesis, and outline of different types of parthenogenesis, methods of induction of artificial parthenogenesis, factors responsible for successful parthenogenetic development, cytogenetics of artificial parthenogenesis and role of artificial parthenogenesis in silkworm breeding. Besides, an attempt is made to describe briefly about parthenogenetic engineering which includes cloning in silkworm, artificial insemination, chimeras, hybridization, chromosomal substitution and recombinant DNA in silkworm.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.59-68
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• 2007

Changes in protein metabolism were studied in hemolymph and fat body on days 1, 3, 5 and 7 of the fifth-instar silkworm, Bombyx mori, exposed to lethal, sublethal doses and prevailing levels of fluoride in groundwater in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh States of India. The total protein content indicated a depletion followed by a concomitant increase in accumulation of free amino acids. Concurrently, the activity of protease in both of the tissues was also increased. A steady enhancement in the activities of alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase paralleled the elevation of glutamate dehydrogenase activity in the tissues studied. It is presumed, on the basis of these results, that the fluoride toxicity causes major changes in protein metabolism of the silkworms.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2003

The silkworm, Bombyx mori, is prone to infection of various pathogenic organisms. Pebrine, one of the deadliest disease of silkworm caused by highly virulent parasitic microsporidian, Nosema bombycis has been understood since long. Infections of the disease range from chronic to highly virulent and can result in complete loss to the sericulture industry. Several strains and species of microsporidians have since been isolated from the infected silkworms; the disease is becoming increasingly more and more complex. Epizootiology, development of immunodiagnostic kit, use of chemotherapy and thermotherapy techniques has been addressed for identification and control of the disease. A technique of delayed mother moth examination, which plays a decisive role in the detection of the disease and harvestation of stable cocoon crop, has been described. An attempt has been made to review briefly the literature available on various aspects of the pebrine disease in order to develop efficient model(s) for the prevention and control of the disease and to suggest future avenues of investigation in the field of pebrine disease management.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.153-155
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• 2001

Eight new three-way cross heterozygotic hybrid genotypes of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori, resulted from hybridization of multivoltine as female and bivoltine Fl hybrid as male component, have been evaluated for the cumulative effect of nine traits of commercial economic importance with the objective of selecting out the most prospective ones for their exploitation as an intermediate technology during unfavorable season. Five of them namely, G(P5${\times}$NBl8) (E.I. =57.23); S(NB18${\times}$P5) (E.I. : 55.48); S(P5${\times}$NBl8) (E.I. = 52.44); S(KBN${\times}$B7) (E.I. = 50.42) and S(NB7${\times}$KB) (E.I. : 50.16) have scored higher values of the Evaluation Index (E.I.) and could be selected in the same order for exploitation during unfavorable seasons in tropical climates.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.347-353
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• 2000

This study was designed to investigate the effects of silkworm (Bombyx mori L.) powder (SWP) on oxygen radicals and their scavenger enzymes in liver membranes of rats. Sprague-Dawley(SD) male rats(160$\pm$10g) were fed basic diet (control group), and experimental diets(SWP-200 and SWP-400 groups) added 200 and 400 mg/kg BW/day for 6 weeks. Hydroxyl radical (.OH) levels resulted in a consistent decreases (4.0% and 7.2%, 5.0% and 14.1%, respectively) in liver mitochondria and microsomes of SWP-200 SWP-400 groups compared with control group, and O2 radical level was significantly decreased about 12% in liver cytosol of SWP-400 group compared with control group. Lipid peroxide(LPO) levels were significantly decreased (14.4% and 9.1%, respectively) in liver mitochondria and microsomes of SWP-400 group only compared with control group. Oxidized protein (OP) levels were remarkably decreased about 12.7% and 16.3% in liver microsomes only of SWP-200 and SWP-400 groups, but significant difference between liver mitochondria could not obtained. Mn-SOD activities were remarkably increased (15.8% and 25.2%, respectively) in mitochondria of SWP-200 and SWP-400 groups, but significant difference between Cu, Zn-SOD activities in these group could be not obtained. GSHPx activity was significantly increased in liver cytosol of SWP-400 group compared with control group. These results suggest that silkworm powder may play an effective role in a attenuating a oxidative stress and increasing a scavenger enzyme activity in liver membranes.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.19-22
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• 2001

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) exhibits potent anti-carcinogenic and other biological activities in several animal models. We report here that dietary CLA, chemically synthesized from corn oil, accumulates I silkworm, Bombyx mori, which is used as therapeutic agent for diabetes in Korea and Japan. Mulberry leaves treated with 0.1 or 10% CLA in ethanol were supplied to silkworms from the end of 3rd instar to the 3rd day of the 5th instar. Fresh mulberry leaves or leaves treated with 10% corn oil in ethanol were fed as a check treatment. the amount of total lipids in the larval body ranged from 17.4 to 19.1mg/g of body tissue, which was not significantly affected by the source of the diets. No CLA was found in the control silkworms. But the level of CLA significantly increased to 83.5 mg/g of fat, when fed with mulberry leaves treated with 10% CLA. Only trace amounts of CLA were detected in the larvae reared with check leaves and 0.1% CLA-treated leaves. Mulberry leaves treatd with corn oil or CLA were not palatable to the larvae, resulting in a reduction of larval weight. These results suggest that silkworms containing CLA in body lipids could be producted by dietary CLA.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.171-174
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• 2012

In order to study the feasibility of utilizing bivoltine foundation cross (FC2) males of the silkworm as male components with Pure Mysore (PM), six foundation crosses viz,CSR2 x CSR27, CSR27 x CSR2, CSR27 x CSR50, CSR50 x CSR27, CSR2 x CSR50 and CSR50 x CSR2 along with CSR2 pure breed were assessed for performance of parental crop,grainage, rearing and reeling performance. The foundation crosses exhibited better performance than CSR2 as a parental crop and male component which resulted in higher egg recovery. Though there was not much difference between PM crossed with FC2 and CSR2 males pertaining to important bioassay parameters, PM x CSR2 exhibited superiority in reeling traits particularly with reelability and raw silk %. This study reveals that FC2 seed cocoons can be utilized during exigency when there is a dearth for CSR2 seed cocoons but not regularly.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.41-43
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• 2006

Lamerin breed of the silkworm Bombyx mori L. is the only mulberry silkworm breed which survives with an associated microsporidian $(Lb_{ms})$ infection from generations. This present comparative investigation has produced information on the influence of $Lb_{ms}$ on the growth and development of the breed. The $Lb_{ms}$ transmits tranovarially as well as perorally at low level. Larvae developed from the eggs laid by female, infected with $Lb_{ms}$ were as normal as larvae developed from the eggs laid by healthy female. In infected tissues early developmental stages and mature spores located intracellularly but did not show hypertrophy of cells of the host. The meronts and sporonts measures $0.46{\pm}0.25,\;1.11{\pm}0.05{\mu}m$ in length and $0.32{\pm}0.05,\;0.78{\pm}0.10{\mu}m$ in width respectively. The mature spore measures $4.36{\pm}0.06{\mu}m$ in length and $2.14{\pm}0.01{\mu}m$ in width.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2009

Quality of seed in the mulberry silkworm, Bombyx mori (L.) is determined by many important factors, wherein unfertilized eggs play an important role. Unfertilization of eggs are caused by several reasons such as, abnormality in the sexual organs of the male and female, abnormal development of the micropylar end of the egg, unfavorable environmental conditions during spinning, cocoon preservation, imperfect handling of moths, mating, ovipostion, cold storing of pupae / moths and indiscriminate use of male moths etc. Though the presence of unfertilized eggs would in no way affect the fertilized ones and their quality directly, the frequency of their occurrence underrates the quality and brings down the hatching percentage. Lower the occurrence of unfertilized eggs, higher is the rating of seed quality. Of the various intrinsic and extrinsic factors and events involved in egg deposition of an adult silk moth, mating is an instinct and a biological obligation for the ultimate perpetuation of the species and a must to provide stimulus for oogenesis and bring about biochemical changes in the spermatophore of the silkworm in order to ensure the presence of sufficient number of normal sperms and testicular fluid in the female reproductive organ, activating ovulation and accelerating oviposition behavior and egg deposition. An attempt has been made in this article to briefly elucidate the characteristics of unfertilized eggs, causes of their occurrence and its impact as well as the significance in silkworm seed production.