INSECT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
·
2023
·
IF 2.6
Zhi-hao Su,Jun-li Lv,Qi Ou,Zi-qin Zhao,Kai-yi Zheng,Xiao-ying Zhang,Wen-qing Lai,Xue-yang Wang,Ming-jie Deng,Mu-wang Li
The white epidermis of silkworms is due to the accumulation of uric acid crystals. Abnormal silkworm uric acid metabolism decreases uric acid production, leading to a transparent or translucent phenotype. The oily silkworm op50 is a mutant strain with a highly transparent epidermis derived from the p50 strain. It shows more susceptibility to Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) infection than the wild type; however, the underlying mechanism is unknown. This study analysed the changes in 34 metabolites in p50 and op50 at different times following BmNPV infection based on comparative metabolomics. The differential metabolites were mainly clustered in six metabolic pathways. Of these, the uric acid pathway was identified as critical for resistance in silkworms, as feeding with inosine significantly enhanced larval resistance compared to other metabolites and modulated other metabolic pathways. Additionally, the increased level of resistance to BmNPV in inosine-fed silkworms was associated with the regulation of apoptosis, which is mediated by the reactive oxygen species produced during uric acid synthesis. Furthermore, feeding the industrial strain Jingsong (JS) with inosine significantly increased the level of larval resistance to BmNPV, indicating its potential application in controlling the virus in sericulture. These results lay the foundation for clarifying the resistance mechanism of silkworms to BmNPV and provide new strategies and methods for the biological control of pests.
研究领域:
昆虫学
·
分子生物学
·
病毒学
·
代谢组学
✓ 已验证
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
Biochimica et Biophysica Acta-Gene Regulatory Mechanisms
·
2018
·
IF 5.179
Quan Gan,Xinwei Zhang,Daobo Zhang,Liang Shi,Yue Zhou,Tongtong Sun,Song Jiang,Junshan Gao,Yan Meng
Sucrose is the most commonly transported sugar in plants and is easily assimilated by insects to fulfill the requirement of physiological metabolism. BmSuc1 is a novel animal β-fructofuranosidase (β-FFase, EC 3.2.1.26) - encoding gene that was firstly cloned and identified in silkworm , Bombyx mori . BmSUC1 was presumed to play an important role in the silkworm-mulberry enzymatic adaptation system by effectively hydrolyzing sucrose absorbed from mulberry leaves. However, this has not been proved with direct evidence thus far. In this study, we investigated sucrose hydrolysis activity in the larval midgut of B. mori by inhibition tests and found that sucrase activity mainly stemmed from β-FFase, not α-glucosidase. Next, we performed shRNA-mediated transgenic RNAi to analyze the growth characteristics of silkworm larvae and variations in glycometabolism in vivo in transgenic silkworms. The results showed that in the RNAi- BmSuc1 transgenic line, larval development was delayed, and their body size was markedly reduced. Finally, the activity of several disaccharidases alone in the midgut and the sugar distribution, total sugar and glycogen in the midgut, hemolymph and fat body were then determined and compared. Our results demonstrated that silencing BmSuc1 significantly reduced glucose and apparently activated maltase and trehalase in the midgut. Together with a clear decrease in both glycogen and trehalose in the fat body, we conclude that BmSUC1 acts as an essential sucrase by directly modulating the degree of sucrose hydrolysis in the silkworm larval midgut, and insufficient sugar storage in the fat body may be responsible for larval malnutrition and abnormal petite phenotypes.
研究领域:
昆虫学
·
分子生物学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
GENE
·
2015
·
IF 2.138
Ping Chen,Jiying Wang,Haiyin Li,Yan Li,Peng Chen,Tian Li,Xi Chen,Junjie Xiao,Liang Zhang
In insects, pigment patterns are formed by melanin, ommochromes, and pteridines. Here, the effects of pteridine synthesis on melanin formation were studied using 4th instar larvae of a wild-type silkworm strain, dazao ( Bombyx mori ), with normal color and markings. Results from injected larvae and in vitro integument culture indicated that decreased activity of guanosine triphosphate cyclohydrolase I (GTP-CH I, a rate-limiting enzyme for pteridine synthesis), lowers BH4 (6R- l -erythro-5,6,7,8-tetrahydrobiopterin, a production correlated with GTP-CH I activity) levels and eliminates markings and coloration. The conversion of phenylalanine and tyrosine to melanin was prevented when GTP-CH I was inhibited. When BH4 was added, phenylalanine was converted to tyrosine , and the tyrosine concentration increased. Tyrosine was then converted to melanin to create normal markings and coloration. Decreasing GTP-CH I activity did not affect L-DOPA (3,4- l -dihydroxyphenylalanine). GTP-CH I affected melanin synthesis by generating the BH4 used in two key reaction steps: (1) conversion of phenylalanine to tyrosine by PAH (phenylalanine hydroxylase) and (2) conversion of tyrosine to L-DOPA by TH (tyrosine hydroxylase). Expression profiles of BmGTPCH Ia , BmGTPCH Ib , BmTH , and BmPAH in the integument were consistent with the current findings.
研究领域:
昆虫学
·
生物化学
✓ 已验证
DOI
高影响因子
Toxins
·
2022
·Vol. 14
·期 7
·421
·
IF 5.075
Vivian Andoh,Liang Chen,Feifei Zhu,Qi Ge,Lin Ma,Qiang Wang,Keping Chen
Melanin has been reported to have potential applications in industries such as cosmetics and food due to its anti-UV and antioxidative qualities. However, the corresponding data on its safety evaluation or biological consequences are fairly limited; such data are critical given its widespread use. The effect of different concentrations (1, 2, 3, and 4%) of melanin on growth status (larvae length and weight, cocoon weight, and morphology), the microstructure of the various tissues (fat body, silk gland, and midgut), and silk properties was studied by using the silkworm (bombyx mori) as the model organism. The weight and length of silkworm larvae fed with melanin were lower than the control, indicating that melanin appears to have a negative effect on the growth status of silkworms; however, the histophysiology analysis indicates that the cell morphologies are not changed, the XRD and FTIR spectra indicate that the secondary and crystalline structures of silks are also well preserved, and the thermogravimetric analysis and tensile test indicate that the thermal stability and mechanical properties are well maintained and even improved to some extent. Generally, it indicates that melanin has a certain inhibitory effect on the growth of silkworm larva but causes no harm to the cell microstructures or silk properties; this demonstrates that the safety of melanin as a food addictive should be considered seriously. The increase of thermal stability and mechanical properties shows that melanin may be a good chemical modifier in textile industries.Keywords:melanin;biological effects;silkworm;silk propertiesKey Contribution:Melanin caused silkworms to lose weight. While silkworms provide an excellent platform for studying melanin toxicity, melanin substantially improved the mechanical characteristics of silkworm silk.
研究领域:
昆虫学
·
材料科学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
Biomolecules
·
2025
·Vol. 15
·期 4
·492
·
IF 4.8
Xia Xu,Chunguang Cui,Xin Du,Jine Chen,Xiuling He,Linbao Zhu,Chengjie Hu,Fang Xu,Chenkai Ma,Shaofang Yu,Xingjian He,Houhui Song,Yongqiang Wang
Lipid metabolism serves as the primary energy source for organisms. Silkworm eggs for spring use are divided into two types: autumn-produced eggs for next spring rearing (AS) and spring-produced eggs for next spring rearing (SS). Production practice revealed significant differences in hatching rates between these two types of silkworm production strain QiufengA. In this study, we identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) primarily enriched in energy metabolism pathways. In particular, the PPARs are involved in energy regulation through lipid metabolism. Furthermore, both AS and SS contained the same eight long-chain fatty acids but in different amounts. Interference with PPARs activity in silkworm eggs disrupted the expression of key genes in this pathway, resulting in a significant decrease in hatching rate. Additionally, knockdown of the pathway key geneBmPlin4led to the reduction in lipid droplets. In conclusion, PPARs regulates the hatching rate of silkworms mainly by affecting lipid metabolism. This study proved the importance of PPARs for hatching and identifies them as potential target genes for population control.
研究领域:
昆虫学
·
分子生物学
·
遗传学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES
·
2017
·
IF 3.671
GuoHua Wu,Peng Song,DongYang Zhang,ZeYu Liu,Long Li,HuiMing Huang,HongPing Zhao,NanNan Wang,YanQiu Zhu
This paper reports the impacts of direct feeding silkworms with different nanoparticles (Cu, Fe, and TiO 2 ) on the morphology, structures, and mechanical properties of the resulting silk fiber (SF). The contents of the Cu nanoparticles were 38 times higher in the posterior silk glands and only 2–3 times higher in the SF and in the middle silk glands compared with the controlled groups. Significant changes of the surface morphology, structures, and diameter of the Cu nanoparticle fed SF have been observed, which are attributed to a slight SF protein reconstruction or conformational change in the mixture of silk fibroin and sericin in the silk glands. The resulting Cu-containing SF exhibits good tensile strength of 360 MPa and reaches a strain of 38%, which are 89% and 36% higher than those of the natural SF. This study offers a new green strategy for the easy modification to achieve robust composite SF.
研究领域:
材料科学
·
生物工程
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
MOLECULES
·
2023
·Vol. 28
·期 10
·4131
·
IF 4.6
Guohua Wu,Lei Jiang,Jianjun Guo,Wushuang Li,Lin Ma,Bozhi Tang,Charles C. Liu
Alanine transaminase (ALT) is an important amino acid-metabolizing enzyme in silkwormBombyx moriL., and is mainly involved in transferring glutamate to alanine (serving as an essential precursor in silk protein synthesis) through transamination. Therefore, it is generally believed that silk protein synthesis in the silk gland and the cocoon quantity increase with the increase in ALT activity to a certain extent. Here, a novel analytical method was developed to determine the ALT activity in several key tissues ofBombyx moriL. including the posterior silk gland, midgut, fat body, middle silk gland, trachea and hemolymph, by combining the direct-analysis-in-real-time (DART) ion source with a triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer. In addition, a traditional ALT activity assay, the Reitman–Frankel method, was also used to measure ALT activity for comparison. The ALT activity results obtained via the DART-MS method are in good agreement with those obtained via the Reitman–Frankel method. However, the present DART-MS method provides a more convenient, rapid and environmentally friendly quantitative method for ALT measurement. Especially, this method can also monitor ALT activity in different tissues ofBombyx moriL. in real time.Keywords:ALT;DART-MS;Bombyx mori;biochemical analysis
研究领域:
昆虫学
·
生物化学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY
·
2025
·
IF 2.4
Tian Chao,Tang Jie,Zhu Qingyu,Guo Xiqian,Shu Qilong,Gu Zhiya,Li Fanchi,Li Bing
Bombyx mori (L.) (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae) is an important economic insect, and Exorista sorbillans (W.) (Diptera: Tachinidae) is an endoparasitic pest of larval B. mori. Dimethoate is less toxic to B. mori than E. sorbillans and is used in sericulture to controlling E. sorbillans. To investigate the effects of dimethoate treatment on the gut microorganisms and physiological functions of B. mori, 16S rRNA sequencing was used to analyzed the composition and structure of the gut microbiota. This study investigated their role in enhancing silkworm resistance by screening dominant populations after dimethoate treatment. The results indicated that dimethoate did not alter the composition of the dominant gut bacterial groups in silkworm; however, it significantly increased the abundance of the gut bacteria Methylobacterium and Aureimonas, and decreased the abundance of Enterobacterales, Bifidobacterium, Blautia, Collinsella, Faecalibacterium, and Prevotella. Eleven strains of dimethoate-resistant bacteria were selected through in vitro culture, all of which were unable to grow when dimethoate was used as a carbon source. Additionally, a germ-free silkworm model was established to assess detoxifying enzyme activity in the midgut. The results revealed that the gut symbiotic microbiota can enhance dimethoate resistance by increasing detoxification enzyme activity. This study identifies a novel pathway for silkworm resistance to dimethoate based on gut microbiota, providing new insights into the role of symbiotic gut bacteria in insecticide metabolism.
研究领域:
昆虫学
·
微生物学
·
农药科学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY
·
2024
·
IF 6.2
Xing Zhang,Yifei Kong,Zihan He,Wenbin Yu,Wenjing Shao,Chengliang Gong,Wenlin Zhou,Xiaolong Hu
Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBP-A) are emerging environmental contaminants with recognized potential health and ecological risks. This study investigated the effects of PFOA and TBBP-A exposure on the global of metabolites of silkworm gut with GC-MS metabolomics. Our results revealed distinct metabolic alterations in silkworms exposed to PFOA and TBBP-A, highlighting their differential impacts on silkworm health and productivity. Exposure to these chemicals significantly altered metabolic profiles, leading to disruptions in pathways related to lipid, carbohydrate, and amino acid metabolism. These findings suggest that PFOA and TBBP-A disrupt crucial metabolic processes in silkworms, indicating potential toxicity and prompting further investigation into their effects on human health and the environment. Ongoing research is crucial to develop safer alternatives and mitigate the risks associated with these persistent contaminants.
研究领域:
环境科学
·
昆虫学
·
代谢生物学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
Materials
·
2018
·Vol. 12
·期 1
·14
·
IF 2.467
Lan Cheng,Huiming Huang,Jingyou Zeng,Zulan Liu,Xiaoling Tong,Zhi Li,Hongping Zhao,Fangyin Dai
In this study, eight types of materials including nanoparticles (Cu and CaCO3), metallic ions (Ca2+and Cu2+), and amino acid substances (serine, tyrosine, sericin amino acid, and fibroin amino acid) were used as additives in silkworm diets to obtainin-situmodified silk fiber composites. The results indicate that tyrosine and fibroin amino acids significantly increase potassium content in silk fibers and induce the transformation of α-helices and random coils toβ-sheet structures, resulting in higher crystallinities and better mechanical properties. However, the other additives-modified silk fibers show a decrease inβ-sheet contents and a slight increase or even decrease in tensile strengths. This finding provides a green and effective approach to produce mechanically enhanced silk fibers with high crystallinity on a large scale. Moreover, the modification mechanisms of these additives were discussed in this study, which could offer new insights into the design and regulation of modified fibers or composites with desirable properties and functions.Keywords:silkworm silk;additives;secondary structure;thermal and mechanical properties
研究领域:
材料科学
·
生物化学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
APPLIED BIOCHEMISTRY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
·
2021
·Vol. 194
·期 3
·1290-1302
·
IF 2.926
Ji Yingrui,Xu Long,Xu Qingqing,Liu Xuan,Lin Sen,Liao Sentai,Wang Weifei,Lan Dongming
More and more industries demand environmental friendliness. Silkworm pupae oil (SPO), extracted from the desilked silkworm pupae, can serve as a promising substrate alternative to use in plasticization. This study aimed to prepare epoxidized silkworm pupae oil (ESPO) and investigate their effects on the thermal stability and plasticization of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) films. A chemo-enzymatic method of ESPO was developed in the presence of Lipase SMG1-F278N and H 2 O 2 in natural deep eutectic solvents (DESs). Lipase SMG1-F278N could initiate the epoxidation reaction effectively at room temperature with a negligible loss of activities 10 batches. A maximum oxirane value of 6.94% was obtained. The formation of oxirane ring in ESPO was confirmed by FTIR and 13 C NMR spectra. Moreover, ESPO showed a better thermal stability and lower freezing point than epoxidized soybean oil (ESO). It was demonstrated that ESPO had a good frost resistance. In addition, ESPO showed a significantly improved plasticizing effect on flexible polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Compared with ESO, ESPO could increase the tensile elongation at break effectively. A significantly lower migration rate of plasticizer was observed in PVC plasticized with ESPO.
研究领域:
材料科学
·
生物化学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
Sustainability
·
2023
·Vol. 15
·期 9
·7090
·
IF 3.9
Ze-Jun Wang,Yu-Hang Zhang,Rong-Yao Gao,Hua-Bing Jia,Xiao-Jing Liu,Ya-Wen Hu,Qian-Qian Shao,Li-Min Fu,Jian-Ping Zhang
This work reports the biological toxicity of nano plastic particles (NPs) to silkworms fed on the bait dopped with polystyrene encapsulated luminescent nanoparticles. The processes of NPs intake and excretion were monitored by means of time-gated optical imaging (TGI) and Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS), which allowed the quantification of the spatiotemporal deposition of NPs in an individual silkworm. The rates of NPs excretion and sequestration were found to be 99.92% and 0.08%, respectively, and the NPs retentate stayed mainly in the fat body (67.7%), digestive tract (18.0%), and head (7.54%). Adverse effects of NPs exposure were accordingly confirmed such as growth retardation and smaller physique. The results of the present work confirmed the possibility of nano-plastics accumulating and transmitting along the food chain in terrestrial ecosystems. The present work demonstrates the potential of employing silkworm as a model of full metamorphosed insects for exploring the biological impact of NPs on congeneric terrestrial animals, as well as the efficacy of the TGI-MS modality for in situ visualizing and quantifying the propagation of NPs via the primary food chain.Keywords:nano plastic particles;time-gated optical imaging;silkworm
研究领域:
环境科学
·
毒理学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
危险品化学品经营许可证（带存储）