Phenotypic effects induced by knock-down of the period clock gene in Bombyx mori.
The lepidopteran Bombyx mori is an insect of considerable scientific and economic importance. Recently, the B. mori circadian clock gene period has been molecularly characterized. We have transformed a B. mori strain with a construct encoding a period double-strand RNA in order to knock-down period gene expression. We observe that this post-transcriptional silencing produces a small but detectable disruption in the egg-hatching rhythm, as well as a reduction in egg-to-adult developmental time, without altering silk production parameters. Thus we show that both circadian and non-circadian phenotypes can be altered by changing per expression, and, at a practical level, these results suggest that per knock-down may provide a suitable strategy for improving the efficiency of rearing, without affecting silk productivity.
Sandrelli
Federica
F
Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Padova, Padua 35131, Italy.
Cappellozza
Silvia
S
Benna
Clara
C
Saviane
Alessio
A
Mastella
Antonio
A
Mazzotta
Gabriella M
GM
Moreau
Stephane
S
Pegoraro
Mirko
M
Piccin
Alberto
A
Zordan
Mauro A
MA
Cappellozza
Luciano
L
Kyriacou
Charalambos P
CP
Costa
Rodolfo
R
D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D012831:Bombyx / Q000235:genetics*; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D008018:Life Cycle Stages / Q000235:genetics; D008297:Male; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D056950:Period Circadian Proteins; D010641:Phenotype; D034622:RNA Interference; D047011:Silk / Q000096:biosynthesis
D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D056950:Period Circadian Proteins; D047011:Silk