What question did this study set out to answer?

Identify the causal gene within the Green b locus responsible for flavonoid metabolism and green cocoon coloration in the silkworm Bombyx mori.

June 4, 2010Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesOpen Access

The silkworm Green b locus encodes a quercetin 5- O -glucosyltransferase that produces green cocoons with UV-shielding properties

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Authors

TDTakaaki DaimonKyoto University CHChikara HirayamaNational Agriculture and Food Research Organization MKMasatoshi KanaiThe University of Tokyo

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Implication

Genetic analysis reveals that Bm-UGT10286 deletion impairs flavonoid uptake in silkworms, indicating that regiospecific glucosylation mediates cocoon UV shielding and insect survival.

Key Points

Identify the causal gene within the Green b locus responsible for flavonoid metabolism and green cocoon coloration in the silkworm Bombyx mori.
Conducted positional cloning to map the Green b locus within a UDP-glucosyltransferase (UGT) gene cluster in Bombyx mori.
Utilized RT-PCR and in vitro biochemical assays to characterize enzyme expression and substrate specificity toward dietary quercetin.
Assessed total flavonoid content across silkworm tissues and evaluated the UV-shielding properties of the resulting cocoons.
Mapped the Green b phenotype to a 38-kb deletion in a UGT gene cluster, demonstrating that loss of Bm-UGT10286 eliminates quercetin 5-O-glucosyltransferase activity.
Observed that failure to glucosylate quercetin at the 5-O position dramatically reduced overall flavonoid bioaccumulation in insect tissues and cocoons.
Demonstrated that flavonoid accumulation substantially increases cocoon UV-shielding capacity, providing a survival advantage during pupal development.

Cite This Study

Daimon et al. (2010) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a9ee20ffbc4fa301fb7d97e https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1000479107

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Implication

Genetic analysis reveals that Bm-UGT10286 deletion impairs flavonoid uptake in silkworms, indicating that regiospecific glucosylation mediates cocoon UV shielding and insect survival.

The silkworm Green b locus encodes a quercetin 5- O -glucosyltransferase that produces green cocoons with UV-shielding properties

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Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

The silkworm Green b locus encodes a quercetin 5- O -glucosyltransferase that produces green cocoons with UV-shielding properties

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

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