Analysis of gene expression during embryonic development in mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori

Abstract

We have developed a method for dechorionation and devitellinization of the silkworm eggs without damage, to facilitate the analysis of gene expression during embryonic development of Bombyx mori. Making use of antibodies available from heterologous systems, the spatio-temporal expression patterns of peroxidase and proliferating cell nuclear antigen have been directly visualized in whole mount embryos at various stages of development without the need for generating transformed lines carrying specific reporter constructs. The B. mori system, previously unamenable for such studies, could thus serve as an attractive model for molecular analysis of insect development.