Bombyx mori (Silk moth)
Proteome ID | UP000005204 |
Strain | Backokjam |
Taxonomy | Bombyx mori (Silk moth) |
Description
Bombyx mori, the silkworm, belongs to the order Lepidoptera in the phylum Arthropoda. Its larvae, which feed on mulberry leaves, are farmed for the production of silk (sericulture) and are thus of great economic importance. The origins of sericulture date back about 5,000 years and today B. mori is a fully domesticated insect species. In science, B. mori is used as a model of lepidopteran biology. The genome sequence was assembled via the merging of two whole-genome shotgun sequencing (WGS) datasets and published in 2008. It comprises 432 Mb in 28 chromosomes containing roughly 14,500 predicted protein-coding genes. Upon publication, 3,000 of those genes did not have a homolog in other insect or vertebrate species. A large proportion of the genome, about 44%, appears to consists of transposable elements.