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

ABSTRACT: 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. Microsatellite markers were developed for A. mylitta, and out of these, ten well-behaved microsatellite loci were used to analyze the population structure of different ecoraces. A total of 154 individual moths belonging to eight different ecoraces, were screened at each locus. Hierarchical analysis of population structure using Analysis of MOlecular VAriance (AMOVA) revealed significant structuring (FST = 0.154) and considerable inbreeding (FIS = 0.505). A significant isolation by distance was also observed. The number of possible population clusters was investigated using distance method, Bayesian algorithm and self organization maps (SOM). The first two methods revealed two distinct clusters, whereas the SOM showed the different ecoraces not to be clearly differentiated. These results suggest that although there is a large degree of phenotypic variation among the different ecoraces of A. mylitta, genetically they are not very different, and the phenotypic differences may largely be a result of their respective ecology.

SUBMITTER: Chakraborty S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4625160 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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

Chakraborty Saikat S Muthulakshmi M M Vardhini Deena D Jayaprakash P P Nagaraju J J Arunkumar K P KP

Scientific reports 20151029

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. Microsatellite markers were developed for A. mylitta, and out of these, ten well-behaved microsatellite loci were used to ...[more]

PMID: 26510465

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Project description:BackgroundThe 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. Out of 87 microsatellite markers developed previously for A. assama, 13 informative markers were employed to genotype 97 individuals from six populations and analyzed their population structure and genetic variation.Methodology/principal findingsWe observed highly significant genetic diversity in one of the populations (WWS-1, a population derived from West Garo Hills region of Meghalaya state). Further analysis with and without WWS-1 population revealed that dramatic genetic differentiation (global F(ST)?= 0.301) was due to high genetic diversity contributed by WWS-1 population. Analysis of the remaining five populations (excluding WWS-1) showed a marked reduction in the number of alleles at all the employed loci. Structure analysis showed the presence of only two clusters: one formed by WWS-1 population and the other included the remaining five populations, inferring that there is no significant genetic diversity within and between these five populations, and suggesting that these five populations are probably derived from a single population. Patterns of recent population bottlenecks were not evident in any of the six populations studied.Conclusions/significanceA. assama inhabiting the WWS-1 region revealed very high genetic diversity, and was genetically divergent from the five populations studied. The efforts should be continued to identify and study such populations from this region as well as other muga silkworm habitats. The information generated will be very useful in conservation of dwindling muga culture in Northeast India.

Project description:BackgroundCocoonase is a serine protease present in sericigenous insects and majorly involved in dissolving of sericin protein allowing moth to escape. Cocoon structure is made up of sericin protein which holds fibroin filaments together. Cocoonase enzyme hydrolyzes sericin protein without harming the fibroin. However, until date, no detailed characterization of cocoonase enzyme and its presence in wild silk moth Antheraea mylitta has been carried out. Therefore, current study aimed for detailed characterization of amplified cocoonase enzyme, secondary and tertiary structure prediction, sequence and structural alignment, phylogenetic analysis, and computational validation. Several computational tools such as ProtParam, Iterative Threading Assembly Refinement (I-TASSER), PROCHECK, SAVES v6.0, TM-align, Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis (MEGA) X, and Figtree were employed for characterization of cocoonase protein.ResultsThe present study elucidates about the isolation of RNA, cDNA preparation, PCR amplification, and in silico characterization of cocoonase from Antheraea mylitta. Here, total RNA was isolated from head region of A. mylitta, and gene-specific primers were designed using Primer3 followed by PCR-based amplification and sequencing. The newly constructed 377-bp length sequence of cocoonase was subjected to in silico characterization. In silico study of A. mylitta cocoonase showed 26% similarity to A. pernyi strain Qing-6 cocoonase using Blastp and belongs to member of chymotrypsin-like serine protease superfamily. From phylogenetic study, it was found that A. mylitta cocoonase sequence is closely related to A. pernyi cocoonase sequence.ConclusionsThe present study revealed about the detailed in silico characterization of cocoonase gene and encoded protein obtained from A. mylitta head region. The results obtained infer the presence of cocoonase enzyme in the wild silkworm A. mylitta and can be used for cocoon degumming which will be a valuable and cost-effective strategy in silk industry.

Dataset Information

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

Publications

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

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