Genetic relatedness does not predict the queen's successors in the primitively eusocial wasp, .

is a social wasp in which colonies consist of a single fertile queen and several sterile workers. If the queen is removed, one of the workers, potential queen (PQ), becomes hyperaggressive and becomes the next queen. The identity of the PQ cannot be predicted in the presence of the queen.

Role of Bmznf-2, a Bombyx mori CCCH zinc finger gene, in masculinisation and differential splicing of Bmtra-2.

Deciphering the regulatory factors involved in Bombyx mori sex determination has been a puzzle, challenging researchers for nearly a century now. The pre-mRNA of B. mori doublesex (Bmdsx), a master regulator gene of sexual differentiation, is differentially spliced, producing Bmdsxm and Bmdsxf transcripts in males and females respectively.

Construction, complete sequence, and annotation of a BAC contig covering the silkworm chorion locus.

The silkmoth chorion was studied extensively by F.C. Kafatos' group for almost 40 years.

A comprehensive analysis of the chorion locus in silkmoth.

Despite more than 40 years of intense study, essential features of the silkmoth chorion (eggshell) are still not fully understood. To determine the precise structure of the chorion locus, we performed extensive EST analysis, constructed a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) contig, and obtained a continuous genomic sequence of 871,711 base pairs. We annotated 127 chorion genes in two segments interrupted by a 164 kb region with 5 non-chorion genes, orthologs of which were on chorion bearing scaffolds in 4 ditrysian families.

Genetic analysis of Indian tasar silkmoth (Antheraea mylitta) populations.

Indian tasar silkmoth, Antheraea mylitta is an economically important wild silkmoth species distributed across India. A number of morphologically and ethologically well-defined ecotypes are known for this species that differ in their primary food plant specificity. Most of these ecotypes do not interbreed in nature, but are able to produce offspring under captive conditions.

Noduler an immune protein augments infection-induced cell proliferation through cross-talking with p38 MAPK.

Noduler, an immune protein that mediates nodule formation by binding to specific bacteria and hemocytes was previously reported in the wild tasar silkworm, Antheraea mylitta. However, the molecular mechanism underlying nodulation in lepidopterans remains unclear. The present study is performed to investigate the functional connection between Noduler with various signalling pathways.

Discovery and mapping of genomic regions governing economically important traits of Basmati rice.

Background: Basmati rice, originated in the foothills of Himalayas, commands a premium price in the domestic and international markets on account of its unique quality traits. The complex genetic nature of unique traits of Basmati as well as tedious screening methodologies involved in quality testing have been serious constraints to breeding quality Basmati. In the present study, we made an attempt to identify the genomic regions governing unique traits of Basmati rice.

Review of methods for the detection and quantification of adulteration of rice: Basmati as a case study.

Rice is a staple and widely grown crop endowed with rich genetic diversity. As it is difficult to differentiate seeds of various rice varieties based on visual observation accurately, the harvested seeds and subsequent processed products are highly prone to adulteration with look-alike and low quality seeds by the dishonest traders. To protect the interests of importing countries and consumers, several methods have been employed over the last few decades for unambiguous discrimination of cultivars, accurate quantification of the adulterants, and for determination of cultivated geographical area.

De novo assembly and transcriptome analysis of the Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis capitata early embryos.

The agricultural pest Ceratitis capitata, also known as the Mediterranean fruit fly or Medfly, belongs to the Tephritidae family, which includes a large number of other damaging pest species. The Medfly has been the first non-drosophilid fly species which has been genetically transformed paving the way for designing genetic-based pest control strategies. Furthermore, it is an experimentally tractable model, in which transient and transgene-mediated RNAi have been successfully used.

Positive selection drives faster-Z evolution in silkmoths.

Genes linked to X or Z chromosomes, which are hemizygous in the heterogametic sex, are predicted to evolve at different rates than those on autosomes. This "faster-X effect" can arise either as a consequence of hemizygosity, which leads to more efficient selection for recessive beneficial mutations in the heterogametic sex, or as a consequence of reduced effective population size of the hemizygous chromosome, which leads to increased fixation of weakly deleterious mutations due to genetic drift. Empirical results to date suggest that, while the overall pattern across taxa is complicated, systems with male heterogamy show a faster-X effect attributable to more efficient selection, whereas the faster-Z effect in female-heterogametic taxa is attributable to increased drift.

Nodulation: an unexplored cellular defense mechanism in insects.

Nodulation is a highly conserved process that involves aggregation of cells around microorganisms, leading to their entrapment with the help of cellular milieu. In insects upon infection, the humoral and cellular arms of the innate immune system orchestrate recognition of pathogens facilitating effector responses through various signaling pathways. Existing data suggests a wide range of immune functions for multiple pattern recognition molecules but their role in nodulation is not known.

bmnpv-miR-3 facilitates BmNPV infection by modulating the expression of viral P6.9 and other late genes in Bombyx mori.

During the last decade, microRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as fine tuners of gene expression in various biological processes including host-pathogen interactions. Apart from the role of host encoded miRNAs in host-virus interactions, recent studies have also indicated the key role of virus-encoded miRNAs in the regulation of host defense responses. In the present study, we show that bmnpv-miR-3, a Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) encoded miRNA, regulates the expression of DNA binding protein (P6.

Characterization of antiviral and antibacterial activity of Bombyx mori seroin proteins.

Lepidopterans as other insects have a very potent innate immune system, which basically comprises cellular and humoral defence mechanisms against bacterial and fungal infections. In lepidopterans, not much is known about the defence mechanisms against viral pathogens, such as baculoviruses. Here we show that small silk proteins of the domesticated silkworm, Bombyx mori, called seroins, act as antiviral agents against a baculovirus pathogen, Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV).

Computational analyses of protein coded by rice (Oryza sativa japonica) cDNA (GI: 32984786) indicate lectin like Ca(2+) binding properties for Eicosapenta Peptide Repeats (EPRs).

Eicosapenta peptide repeats (EPRs) occur exclusively in flowering plant genomes and exhibit very high amino acid residue conservation across occurrence. DNA and amino acid sequence searches yielded no indications about the function due to absence of similarity to known sequences. Tertiary structure of an EPR protein coded by rice (Oryza sativa japonica) cDNA (GI: 32984786) was determined based on ab initio methodology in order to draw clues on functional significance of EPRs.

Lepidopteran sex determination: a cascade of surprises.

Sex determination is a developmental pathway that fixes the sexual fate (male or female) of an individual at early stages of embryonic development. This pathway is ideally suited for evolutionary studies given the astoundingly diverse mechanisms found in the animal kingdom. In particular, insects use multiple different cues to specify the sexual fate of an individual.

Large scale full-length cDNA sequencing reveals a unique genomic landscape in a lepidopteran model insect, Bombyx mori.

The establishment of a complete genomic sequence of silkworm, the model species of Lepidoptera, laid a foundation for its functional genomics. A more complete annotation of the genome will benefit functional and comparative studies and accelerate extensive industrial applications for this insect. To realize these goals, we embarked upon a large-scale full-length cDNA collection from 21 full-length cDNA libraries derived from 14 tissues of the domesticated silkworm and performed full sequencing by primer walking for 11,104 full-length cDNAs.

Pyrosequencing-based transcriptome analysis of the asian rice gall midge reveals differential response during compatible and incompatible interaction.

The Asian rice gall midge (Orseolia oryzae) is a major pest responsible for immense loss in rice productivity. Currently, very little knowledge exists with regard to this insect at the molecular level. The present study was initiated with the aim of developing molecular resources as well as identifying alterations at the transcriptome level in the gall midge maggots that are in a compatible (SH) or in an incompatible interaction (RH) with their rice host.

Genetic variation within native populations of endemic silkmoth Antheraea assamensis (Helfer) from Northeast India indicates need for in situ conservation.

A. assamensis is a phytophagous Lepidoptera from Northeast India reared on host trees of Lauraceae family for its characteristic cocoon silk. Source of these cocoons are domesticated farm stocks that crash frequently and/or wild insect populations that provide new cultures.

Engineering silkworms for resistance to baculovirus through multigene RNA interference.

Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) that infects the silkworm, B. mori, accounts for >50% of silk cocoon crop losses globally. We speculated that simultaneous targeting of several BmNPV essential genes in transgenic silkworm would elicit a stable defense against the virus.

Genetic diversity and population structure of Indian golden silkmoth (Antheraea assama).

Background: The Indian golden saturniid silkmoth (Antheraea assama), popularly known as muga silkmoth, is a semi-domesticated silk producing insect confined to a narrow habitat range of the northeastern region of India. Owing to the prevailing socio-political problems, the muga silkworm habitats in the northeastern region have not been accessible hampering the phylogeography studies of this rare silkmoth. Recently, we have been successful in our attempt to collect muga cocoon samples, although to a limited extent, from their natural habitats.

PhiC31 integrase-mediated cassette exchange in silkworm embryos.

To construct an effective site-specific integration system in the silkworm, we examined if phiC31 integrase works in silkworm embryos. As an assay system, we constructed an extrachromosomal cassette exchange reaction system between two attP sites of an acceptor plasmid and two attB sites of a donor plasmid. To evaluate the activity, integrase mRNAs synthesized from three different plasmids were used.

A baculovirus-encoded MicroRNA (miRNA) suppresses its host miRNA biogenesis by regulating the exportin-5 cofactor Ran.

MicroRNAs have emerged as key players in the regulation of various biological processes in eukaryotes, including host-pathogen interactions. Recent studies suggest that viruses encode miRNAs to manipulate their host gene expression to ensure their effective proliferation, whereas the host limits virus infection by differentially expressing miRNAs that target essential viral genes. Here, we demonstrate that an insect virus, Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrosis virus (BmNPV), modulates the small-RNA-mediated defense of its host, B.