Expression of autophagy-related genes in the anterior silk gland of the silkworm (Bombyx mori) during metamorphosis

2011 ◽  
Vol 89 (11) ◽  
pp. 1019-1026 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qingrong Li ◽  
Xiaojuan Deng ◽  
Zhijun Huang ◽  
Sichun Zheng ◽  
Gianluca Tettamanti ◽  
...  

Programmed cell death (PCD) is a genetically regulated process of cell elimination and is evolutionarily conserved in eukaryotes. Degeneration of larval tissues during metamorphosis in insects is a result of PCD triggered by ecdysteroids and autophagic process has been shown to be involved in the degeneration of silk gland of the silkworm ( Bombyx mori L., 1758). However, experimental evidence for the expression of autophagy marker genes remains insufficient. In this study, expression of the autophagy-related genes BmAtg5, BmAtg6, BmAtg8, and BmAtg12 was determined in the anterior silk glands of larvae and pupae during larval to pupal transformation by using reverse-transcription PCR, quantitative real-time PCR, and Western blot analyses. The results indicated that BmAtg5, BmAtg6, BmAtg8, and BmAtg12 had the highest expression levels on the 3rd day of the wandering stage or at the prepupal stage, and the time frame of the expression of these genes was coincident with the morphological characteristics of autophagy in the silk gland during the larval to pupal transformation. This study demonstrated that the autophagy-related genes are involved in the degeneration of the anterior silk gland of B. mori.

1975 ◽  
Vol 107 (12) ◽  
pp. 1311-1314 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuya Shimada

Abstract(1) Crude extracts prepared from the silk glands of the silkworm, Bombyx mori L. contain trehalase activity. (2) Trehalase in the silk glands has a pH of 5.5 and a Km of 0.71 mM. The activity of the enzyme is inhibited by divalent cations such as Mn, Cu, and Zn. (3) By histochemical methods, it is shown that trehalase is localized in the periphery of the silk gland cells, especially in the tunica propria and tunica intima. (4) Trehalase activity is low in fifth instar and increases greatly in spinning stages, after which the activity decreases.


2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Wang ◽  
Xinran Wang ◽  
Xuemei Li ◽  
Qian Pu ◽  
Chengyi Luo ◽  
...  

1968 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. C5-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yutaka Tashiro ◽  
Shiro Matsuura ◽  
Takashi Morimoto ◽  
Sunao Nagata

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