Entomology Commons^™

The Wings Of Bombyx Mori Develop From Larval Discs Exhibiting An Early Differentiated State: A Preliminary Report, Madhuri Kango-Singh, Amit Singh, K. P. Gopinathan

Biology Faculty Publications

Lepidopteran insects present a complex organization of appendages which develop by various mechanisms. In the mulberry silkworm, Bombyx mori, a pair of meso- and meta-thoracic discs located on either side in the larvae gives rise to the corresponding fore- and hind-wings of the adult. These discs do not experience massive cell rearrangements during metamorphosis and display the adult wing vein pattern. We have analysed wing development in B. mori by two approaches, viz., expression of patterning genes in larval wing discs, and regulatory capacities of larval discs following explantation or perturbation. Expression of Nubbin is seen all over the presumptive …

Analysis Of Gene Expression During Embryonic Development In Mulberry Silkworm Bombyx Mori, Amit Singh, K. P. Gopinathan

Biology Faculty Publications

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.

The attention lavished on Drosophila melanogaster as …