Contrasting gut bacteriomes unveiled between wild Antheraea assamensis Helfer (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) and domesticated Bombyx mori L. (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae) silkworms.

Background: Insect gut microbiomes play a fundamental role in various aspects of insect physiology, including digestion, nutrient metabolism, detoxification, immunity, growth and development. The wild Muga silkworm, Antheraea assamensis Helfer holds significant economic importance, as it produces golden silk.

Methods And Results: In the current investigation, we deciphered its intricate gut bacteriome through high-throughput 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing.

Defatted silkworm pupae meal as an alternative protein source for cattle.

Silkworm pupae meal (SWP) is a protein-rich by-product of the silk reeling industry, available in a significant quantity. However, there has been little and insignificant research into the use of SWP in ruminants to date. In this view, the present study was conducted in two phases to evaluate the effect of different inclusion levels of defatted silkworm pupae meal (DSWP) on rumen fermentation, microbial protein synthesis and nutrient utilisation in cattle fed on finger millet straw (FMS)-based diet.

Effect of chemical and microbial vitamin B₁₂ analogues on production of vitamin B₁₂.

Strain improvement by genetic manipulation or optimization of fermentation conditions for overproduction of vitamin B(12) has a drawback due to feed back inhibition. To resist the feed back inhibition by analogues of vitamin B(12) in Propionibacterium freudenrechii subsps. shermanii (OLP-5), we have tested with microbially separated B(12) analogues from three different strains.