Bivoltine cocoon color sex-limited breeds of Bombyx mori (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae) show enhanced economic performance and fecundity following spermidine supplementation

Madhavi Kasa; Seetharamulu Jolapuram; Anugata Lima; Brinda Goda Lakshmi Didugu; Jagannatha Raju Poosapati; Anitha Mamillapalli

doi:10.1093/jee/toad126

Bivoltine cocoon color sex-limited breeds of Bombyx mori (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae) show enhanced economic performance and fecundity following spermidine supplementation

J Econ Entomol. 2023 Oct 10;116(5):1679-1688. doi: 10.1093/jee/toad126.

Authors

Madhavi Kasa^{1

2}, Seetharamulu Jolapuram¹, Anugata Lima², Brinda Goda Lakshmi Didugu², Jagannatha Raju Poosapati¹, Anitha Mamillapalli²

Affiliations

¹ Bivoltine Silkworm Breeding Laboratory, Andhra Pradesh State Sericulture Research and Development Institute, Kirikera-515 211, Hindupur, AP, India.
² Department of Biotechnology, School of Science, GITAM (Deemed to be University), Visakhapatnam 530 045, AP, India.

PMID: 37467486
DOI: 10.1093/jee/toad126

Abstract

Sericulture has immense economic significance. Separating male and female silkworm pupae for egg production in grainage is a laborious task; hence, sex-limited breeds for cocoon color are advantageous for this process. The major constraint in sex-limited breeds is their low fecundity. Sex-limited female moths lay a lower number of eggs than nonsex-limited breeds. Polyamine, spermidine was shown to improve fecundity in several organisms, including the silkworm, Bombyx mori L. In the present study, cocoon color sex-limited breeds, HTO2SL, APS27SL, and SLFC27, were selected and fed with spermidine to improve fecundity and nutritional efficiency. The fifth-instar silkworm larvae of the selected breeds were subjected to standard rearing conditions with and without spermidine supplementation up to spinning. The spermidine-supplemented sex-limited breeds exhibited a significant increase in fecundity, nutritional indices, and economic parameters compared with the control sex-limited breeds. Among the 3 sex-limited breeds tested, the performance of APS27SL improved significantly.

Keywords: Bombyx mori; fecundity nutritional index; sex-limited breed; silkworm; spermidine.