Molecular genetic studies on moltinism mutants of the silkworm, Bombyx mori

本研究对家蚕的mod、RT、M基因座进行了定位克隆，以揭示家蚕粘胶的分子机制。鉴定了一个与MOD有关的基因，并证明了其功能：MOD在JH的生物合成中起着重要作用。RT和M对应的基因组区域分别缩小到~400和~40kb。结果表明，M基因座对应于一个转录因子，该转录因子可能参与蜕皮激素的生物合成。

To reveal the molecular mechanism of moltinism in the silkworm, positional cloning of mod, rt, M loci was performed in this study. A gene responsible for the mod was identified and its function was demonstrated : mod plays an essential role in JH biosynthesis. The genomic region corresponding to rt and M was narrowed to ～400 and ～40 kb, respectively. The results suggest that the M locus corresponds to a transcription factor that potentially involves in biosynthesis of ecdysteroids.