Silkworms culture as a source of protein for humans in space

Yang, Yunan; Tang, Liman; Tong, Ling; Li, Hong

doi:10.1016/j.asr.2008.12.009

Cited by 39 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…In China, planting mulberry and the breeding of silkworms have more than 5000 years of history, with sericulture industry being an important part of China's rural economy. Additionally, the silkworm is enriched with high quality proteins (Jia et al, 2011;Qin et al, 2013) and can be used as a protein source for personnel engaged in space exploration (Yang et al, 2009). The silkworm faeces contains higher Correspondence: Yanhua Yang or Keping Chen, Institute of Life Sciences, Jiangsu University, 301 Xuefu Road, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province 212013, China.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Research progress on the immune mechanism of the silkworm Bombyx mori

et al. 2018

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The silkworm Bombyx mori L., representing an important economic insect and one of the best models for studying insect immunity, possesses an efficient and sophisticated innate immune system against invasive microorganisms. The innate immune system basically includes humoural immunity and cellular immunity. The humoural immunity, which functions via molecules including humoural factors, lysozymes, phenoloxidase, hemolin, lectins and, in particular, antimicrobial peptides, plays a central role in eliminating the invading pathogens. The cellular immunity is primarily carried out and mediated by plasmatocytes and granular cells of haemocytes in the haemolymph, usually followed by melanization. Additionally, apoptosis, a primary viral defence for insects lacking adaptive immunity, comprises an important part of the silkworm immune system. Currently, there is still the lack of a comprehensive and systematic understanding of the molecular mechanisms of silkworm immunity. We review the latest research progress on silkworm immune mechanisms, including phenoloxidase‐dependent melanization and apoptosis, which is conducive to improving our understanding of the silkworm immune mechanism, clarifying the relationship of various immune mechanisms, and also providing a theoretical basis and reference for the future research of insect immunity.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Research progress on the immune mechanism of the silkworm Bombyx mori

et al. 2018

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“…Species need to be chosen that can function in a bioregenerative small-scale life support system in which insects function at the same time as recyclers and decomposers. Species that have been proposed are in particular the Domesticated silkworm B. mori (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae) (122)(123)(124) and the Yellow mealworm (125) .…”

Section: Insect Farmingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Edible insects are the future?

2016

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The global increase in demand for meat and the limited land area available prompt the search for alternative protein sources. Also the sustainability of meat production has been questioned. Edible insects as an alternative protein source for human food and animal feed are interesting in terms of low greenhouse gas emissions, high feed conversion efficiency, low land use, and their ability to transform low value organic side streams into high value protein products. More than 2000 insect species are eaten mainly in tropical regions. The role of edible insects in the livelihoods and nutrition of people in tropical countries is discussed, but this food source is threatened. In the Western world, there is an increasing interest in edible insects, and examples are given. Insects as feed, in particular as aquafeed, have a large potential. Edible insects have about the same protein content as conventional meat and more PUFA. They may also have some beneficial health effects. Edible insects need to be processed and turned into palatable dishes. Food safety may be affected by toxicity of insects, contamination with pathogens, spoilage during conservation and allergies. Consumer attitude is a major issue in the Western world and a number of strategies are proposed to encourage insect consumption. We discuss research pathways to make insects a viable sector in food and agriculture: an appropriate disciplinary focus, quantifying its importance, comparing its nutritional value to conventional protein sources, environmental benefits, safeguarding food safety, optimising farming, consumer acceptance and gastronomy.

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“…Our results demonstrated the utility of the Bmlp3 promoter to produce recombinant proteins in the fat body of transgenic silkworm/pupae, with an obvious advantage of requiring little need for protein purification. Silkworm pupae have been a favorite food in China from ancient times (Yang et al 2009). In addition, it can also be processed directly into animal feeds and is a valuable and inexpensive nutrient source.…”

Section: Future Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

The promoter of Bmlp3 gene can direct fat body-specific expression in the transgenic silkworm, Bombyx mori

Deng

Wang

et al. 2013

Transgenic Res

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The fat body plays multiple, crucial roles in the life of silkworms. Targeted expression of transgenes in the fat body of the silkworm, Bombyx mori, is important not only for clarifying the function of endogenous genes expressed in this tissue, but also for producing valuable recombinant proteins. However, fat body-specific gene expression remains difficult due to a lack of suitable tissue-specific promoters. Here we report the isolation of the fat body-specific promoter of Bmlp3, a member of the 30K protein family of silkworms. The 1.1 kb fragment from −374 to +738 of Bmlp3 displayed strong promoter activity in the cell lines BmE and Spli-221. In transgenic silkworms, a DsRed reporter gene controlled by the 1.1 kb Bmlp3 promoter fragment was expressed specifically in the fat body in a stage-specific pattern that was nearly identical to the endogenous Bmlp3 gene. We conclude that the 1.1 kb Bmlp3 promoter fragment is sufficient to direct tissue- and stage-specific expression of transgenes in the fat body of silkworms, highlighting the potential use of this promoter for both functional genomics research and biotechnology applications.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11248-013-9705-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Silkworms culture as a source of protein for humans in space

Cited by 39 publications

References 29 publications

Research progress on the immune mechanism of the silkworm Bombyx mori

Research progress on the immune mechanism of the silkworm Bombyx mori

Edible insects are the future?

The promoter of Bmlp3 gene can direct fat body-specific expression in the transgenic silkworm, Bombyx mori

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