Spider dragline silk is a natural fiber that has excellent tensile properties; however, it is difficult to produce artificially as a long, strong fiber. Here, the spider (Araneus ventricosus) dragline protein gene was cloned and a transgenic silkworm was generated, that expressed the fusion protein of the fibroin heavy chain and spider dragline protein in cocoon silk. The spider silk protein co...

The effect of a juvenile hormone (JH) mimic R394 (ethyl 9-cyclohexyl-3, 7-dimethy l-2, 4-nonadienoate) applied topically on the abdominal tergum of silkworm (Bombyx mori L.) after the fourth ecdysis has been studied. JH R394 ranging from 1.0, 0.1, 0.01 μl / larva was applied at 48, 72 and 96 hours of V instar larva that was improved the cocoon weight, shell weight and shell ratio etc. The most ...

Strongly alkaline electrolyzed water (SAEW) was prepared by electrolysis of tap water in a laboratory-made water electrolyzer. The pH of stored SAEW was stable for more than one month. The hardness of the electrolyzed water was 30% lower and the Na(+) concentration was 18% higher than those of the tap water. Silkworm cocoon shells were boiled in pH 11.50 SAEW at a ratio of 1∶40∼80 (W/V) for 20 ...

A bivoltine silkworm hybrid, KA x NB4D2 was treated with the juvenoid R394 (Ethyl-9 cyclohexyl-3,7-dimethyl-2,4-nonadienoate) at a dose of 0.039 nl/larva at 24, 48, 72 and 96 h of 5th instar for silk yield improvement. Treatment specific significant increase was observed in the cocoon and shell weight with no such marked variation in the shell percentage. Notable changes were also seen in tr...

Evolution has produced some remarkable creatures, of which silk gland is a fascinating organ that exists in a variety of insects and almost half of the 34,000 spider species. The impressive ability to secrete huge amount of pure silk protein, and to store proteins at an extremely high concentration (up to 25%) make the silk gland of Bombyx mori hold great promise to be a cost-effective platform...

The silk gland in Lepidoptera larvae is responsible for the silk production used for shelter or cocoon construction. The secretion of fibroin and sericin by the different silk gland regions are well established. There are few attempts to detect lipid components in the insect silk secretion, although the presence of such element may contribute to the resistance of the shelter to wet environment....

This study concerns the performance of cocoons spun by silk worms as a natural ‎adsorbent for removal of Methylene Blue (MB) from aqueous solutions. To study the adsorption ‎process, the effect of various parameters such as contact time, adsorbent dosage, dye initial ‎concentration, and pH of the solution were investigated. According to the experiments, the kinetic ‎data were best described by ...

a bivoltine silkworm hybrid, ka x nb4d2 was treated with the juvenoid r394 (ethyl-9 cyclohexyl-3,7-dimethyl-2,4-nonadienoate) at a dose of 0.039 nl/larva at 24, 48, 72 and 96 h of 5th instar for silk yield improvement. treatment specific significant increase was observed in the cocoon and shell weight with no such marked variation in the shell percentage. notable changes were also seen in trait...