Comparative Transcriptomics of Silk glands of Indian Bombyx mori L. (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae) Breeds

Author: Kusuma Lingaiah, Satish Lokanath, S. Manthira Moorthy and Sivaprasad Vankadara

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Abstract

Bombyx mori silk quality is a complex trait controlled by several genes. The functional complexity of silkworm breeds contrasting for silk quality have not been studied. In this study, the gene expression profiles of silk gland of Indian silkworm breeds (CSR2, CSR27, Pure Mysore, Nistari, PMxCSR2) contrasting for silk quality were explored. A total of 96,778,970 raw reads were obtained, with 85,062,305 reads mapped to the silkworm genome employing Illumina transcriptome sequencing. Further, 46,183 merged transcripts were obtained with the identification of 4,732 novel isoforms. Differential expression of genes identified 467 upregulated and 703 downregulated transcripts correlating to its influence on silk quality. The transcripts abundances were represented mainly in interactions in energy metabolism, vital for silk fibroin synthesis, ribosomal-protein biogenesis, transportation and folding of proteins. Accordingly, five transcripts (Ubiquitin, Mannosidase, Caspases, RNA polymerase-II, and Acetyl-glucosamine-transferase) were identified as potential regulators of silk fibroin synthesis. Among them, Ubiprenyl-A-transferase was validated as potential regulator influencing silk synthesis thereby correlating to its quality. This study advances the understanding of the regulation of silk synthesis, the role of ubiquitin and mannosidase and its interaction with other genes in silk protein synthesis. This is the first report on the characterization of transcriptomes of Indian silkworm breeds (bivoltine and multivoltine) contrasting for silk quality, which could further help to understand the complexities involved in silk fibroin synthesis

Keywords

Bombyx mori, Transcriptome sequencing, Ubiquitin, Mannosidase, Fibroin regulators.

Conclusion

This further indicates that the upregulation of RNA pol. II functions as a crucial factor in silk fibroin synthesis in silk glands of B. mori by activation of processes like proteasome synthesis and autophagy promoting degradation of abnormal proteins synthesized in silk gland

References

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How to cite this article

Kusuma Lingaiah, Satish Lokanath, S. Manthira Moorthy and Sivaprasad Vankadara (2024). Comparative Transcriptomics of silk glands of Indian Bombyx mori L. (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae) Breeds. Biological Forum – An International Journal, 16(8): 82-89