Degumming Research Articles

A Study on Migrated Silk Entrepreneurs for Economic Impact with Special Reference to Kancheepuram

This research paper delves into the economic impacts of migrated silk entrepreneurs in Kancheepuram, a region synonymous with silk production in India. The study's primary objective is to uncover the contributions, challenges, and opportunities that migrated entrepreneurs bring to the traditional silk industry and to assess their role in the economic development of Kancheepuram. Employing a qualitative research design, the methodology hinges on semi-structured interviews with 30 migrated silk entrepreneurs, analysed through thematic analysis using NVivo 12 to identify recurring themes. Key findings reveal that migrated entrepreneurs significantly contribute to job creation, innovation, and market expansion in Kancheepuram's silk industry. They face considerable challenges, including market competition, access to capital, and regulatory hurdles, yet identify notable opportunities in technological advancements, sustainability, and global market integration. The study fills a crucial gap in the literature by offering detailed insights into the complex dynamics between migration, entrepreneurship, and economic development in a traditional industry context. The implications of this research are manifold, highlighting the need for supportive policy frameworks that recognize the unique needs and potential of entrepreneurs in traditional sectors. Furthermore, it underscores the importance of fostering an environment conducive to innovation and sustainability, thereby enhancing the global competitiveness of traditional industries like silk production.

Application of Nanotechnology in Sericulture: A Review

Nanoparticles (NPs) have emerged as promising tools for enhancing mulberry cultivation and the performance of silkworms, crucial for silk production. Mulberry, a vital plant for silk production, demands proper nutrient management for optimal growth and leaf production. Application of NPs, particularly zinc oxide and iron oxide, has shown significant improvements in mulberry growth parameters. Furthermore, NPs have demonstrated positive effects on silkworm larvae, enhancing feed efficiency and growth parameters, leading to better cocoon traits. Silkworms fed with NPs-treated mulberry leaves exhibited increased body weight, cocoon weight, and silk filament characteristics. Additionally, NPs have shown promise in enhancing silkworm reproduction and fecundity while conferring resistance against diseases like BmNPV. Various NPs, including TiO2, silver and chitosan, have exhibited antibacterial properties against silkworm pathogens, thereby contributing to disease prevention. Overall, NPs offer a sustainable and effective approach to enhance mulberry cultivation, improve silkworm performance and mitigate disease risks, thus potentially revolutionizing silk production practices.

COONCARE : TRANSFORMATIVE MONITERING FOR SERICULTURE

Sericulture alludes to the raising silkworms to deliver silk. India is the second biggest producer of silk in delivering 15% of the aggregate silk creation along side china. Sericulture is the base of social, economic, cultural and political progress of India. Temperature and humidity play an main role in the development of healthy silkworms in every stage, especially during the development of larva. Disinfection is one of the reproving parameter to be considered for healthy and successful silkworm rearing. Sericulture is the significant occupation in the country side of India and techniques utilized by the agriculturists are as yet obsolete. Hence there exists the need of using innovation in Sericulture cultivate. Keywords-; IoT; Sensors; Image processing; Sericulture;

Cocoon Care : Transformative Monitoring For Sericulture

Sericulture is the process of cultivating silkworms and extracting silk from them. The caterpillars of the domestic silk moth (also called „Bombyx Mori‟) are the most commonly used silkworm species in sericulture. Other types of silkworms (such as Eri, Muga, and Tasar) are also cultivated for the production of „wild silks‟. Silk is known as the queen of textiles due to its softness, durability, and luster. Furthermore, the silk fibers provide characteristics that are superior toany other type of fiber (e.g., water absorbency, heat resistance, dyeing efficiency, and luster). This textile is obtained from cocoons spun by larvae known as silkworm (Bombyx mori), which were discovered in China between 2600 and 2700 BC. The process of silk production is known as sericulture, beginning with the rearing of the silkworm1

Redefining Surgical Materials: Applications of Silk Fibroin in Osteofixation and Fracture Repair.

Silk and silk derivatives have emerged as a possible alternative in surgical device development, offering mechanical strength, biocompatibility, and environmental sustainability. Through a systematic review following PRISMA guidelines, this study evaluated silk fibroin's application across pre-clinical and clinical settings, focusing on its role as screws and plates for osteofixation. A comprehensive search yielded 245 studies, with 33 subjected to full-text review and 15 ultimately included for qualitative analysis. The findings underscore silk fibroin's superior properties, including its tunable degradation rates and ability to be functionalized with therapeutic agents. In vivo and in vitro studies demonstrated its efficacy in enhancing bone healing, offering improved outcomes in osteofixation, particularly for craniofacial defects. Silk fibroin's remarkable attributes in biodegradation and drug release capabilities underscore its potential to enhance patient care. Ultimately, silk fibroin's integration into surgical practices promises a revolution in patient outcomes and environmental sustainability. Its versatility, coupled with the continuous progress in fabrication techniques, signals a promising horizon for its widespread acceptance in the medical field, potentially establishing a new benchmark in surgical treatment. Further research is expected to solidify the transition of silk products from basic science to patient care, paving the way for widespread use in various surgical applications.

Evaluation of Reproductive and Growth Performance in New Breeds and Hybrids of Bivoltine Silkworm (Bombyx mori L.)

This study aimed to evaluate the reproductive and growth performance of recently developed bivoltine silkworm parental breeds and their hybrids to improve silk production and ensure the long-term sustainability of sericulture. Utilizing five thermotolerant pure breeds (B1, B2, B4, B6 and B8) and four popular CSR breeds (CSR2, CSR27, CSR6 and CSR26), six foundation crosses and eight double hybrids were developed and evaluated for ten traits. Results showed that B1 exhibited superior performance in fecundity (524.00), hatching percentage (98.67%), dead eggs (1.33%), pupal weight (1.31 g), pupation rate (96.84%) and cumulative survival index (CSI) (93.84%). The foundation cross B1 × B2 excelled in fecundity (553.67), larval mortality (2.67%), pupal weight (1.53 g), ERR (97.33%) and CSI (93.27%) while FC2 performed better in hatching percentage (97.60%), dead eggs percentage (2.40%), fifth instar larval duration (157.21 h), fifth instar larval weight (35.64 g/10 larvae) and pupation rate (96.33%). Among the double hybrids, (B1 × B2) × (FC1) demonstrated superior performance in fecundity (614.33), larval mortality (1.41%), pupal weight (2.06 g), ERR (98.59%) and CSI (97.24%). FC2 × FC1 excelled in larval duration (141.11 h), fifth instar larval weight (51.96 g/10 larvae) and pupation rate (98.94%). Double hybrids showed significant improvements compared to parental breeds and foundation crosses, indicating potential for field testing and further development. These results indicate the potential of using the newly identified breeds and foundation crosses in silkworm breeding, particularly in developing new double hybrids as an alternative to established CSR breeds and hybrids.

Lost in Luxury: Climate Change and Silk Consumption in Mid-Qing China (1735–1840 CE)

A quantitative approach has been promoted to understand the history of climate and society. Statistical research on luxurious expenses under climate change in past societies remains insufficient, however. Hence, this study statistically examined the association between climate change and the imperial court’s luxury expenses on silk products in mid-Qing China (1735–1840 CE) by including major ecological–social–economic stresses. Results indicated that the Qing imperial court’s silk consumption increased under favorable climatic conditions and a flourishing agrarian economy, and vice versa. Natural disasters and social crises hardly affected the Qing imperial court’s silk consumption, however, suggesting its limited support and inactive attitude toward ecological–social–economic stresses. Such an institutional weakness might have increased social vulnerability, which could have led to Qing China’s decline since the eighteenth century. The study serves as the first attempt to reveal a long-term historical climate–luxury linkage and further provides a supplementary explanation of the economic decline from the perspective of the history of climate and society. Based on past lessons, this study emphasizes institutional activeness to tackle upcoming climate change challenges.

Rapid identification of silk products by attenuated total reflection–mid-infrared spectroscopy and extreme learning machines

Silk is a high-quality fiber of natural protein and its amino acid composition is close to that of the human skin. The texture of pure silk is elegant, soft and comfortable to wear, with good breathability and hygroscopicity, as well as excel dirt absorption and sterilization. It is essential to identify natural pure silk products and various non-silk and adulterated silk products with other fibers. The work focuses on exploring the feasibility of combining attenuated total reflection–mid-infrared (ATR-MIR) spectroscopy feature selection, extreme learning machines (ELM), and ensemble and for rapid identification of silk products. A dataset consisting of 70 silk samples and 83 other fiber samples was prepared. The dataset is split evenly into training and test sets for building and validating predictive models. Simulated annealing (SA) was used for pre feature selection. A total four kinds of ELM models including full-spectrum, subspace and ensemble models were developed and compared. The optimized local model and the ensemble model achieve the best and most stable performance, i.e., with 100% accuracy. It seems that SA, ELM combined with ATR-MIR technique may be a potential alternative to traditional analytical methods of silk identification, which can avoid time-consuming and labor-intensive chemical analysis.

Traditional vs. Scientific Eri Silkworm Rearing: A Study in Bhubaneswar Zone

Sericulture holds significant importance in the tribal economy of India, with the country being the sole producer of various natural silks including mulberry, tasar, muga, oak tasar and eri silk. Eri silkworm rearing is particularly prevalent in the Bhubaneswar zone of Odisha, encompassing districts such as Khurdha, Jagatsinghpur, Nayagarh, Cuttack and Kendrapada. This study focuses on the traditional eri culture methods in the region, highlighting indigenous rearing techniques, food plant selection, larvae management etc. Observations revealed that traditional practices were consistent across the Bhubaneswar region, emphasizing the need for adopting scientific methods. Implementing tray/platform rearing, precise feeding techniques, strategic food plant selection during different larval stages, well-designed rearing rooms and advanced spinning methods can optimize space usage, ensure disease-free larvae, promote uniform cocoon production, increase the effective rate of rearing and silk production. The disparities in shell percentage between cocoons at the farmer level and the farm level in the Bhubaneswar zone are indicative of varying practices and care in sericulture. Farmer-level cocoons exhibit a lower shell ratio ranging from 9.17% to 9.82%, implying inadequate care and nutrition provided to growing silkworms. This discrepancy suggests that these farmers might face challenges in maintaining suitable conditions such as proper temperature, humidity and nutrition, leading to inferior cocoon quality. Conversely, at the farm level, the shell ratio ranges from 10.14% to 10.71%, indicating that farmers in this category are comparatively more adept at silk rearing practices. They provide better nutrition, suitable temperature, humidity and other necessary facilities, resulting in higher-quality cocoons. The superior environment and care provided at the farm level are reflected in the Effective Rate of Rearing (ERR%) consistently above 40%, reaching a maximum of 50.85%. This signifies that farm-level cocoons have better attributes such as cocoon weight, shell thickness and filament size compared to those reared by individual farmers, where ERR% ranged from 31% to 42%. The integration of modern techniques not only enhances production potential but also creates employment opportunities for rural youth. This approach fosters better income generation, surpassing the limitations of traditional methods and paving the way for a thriving sericulture industry.

Fine-Grained Detection Model Based on Attention Mechanism and Multi-Scale Feature Fusion for Cocoon Sorting

Sorting unreelable inferior cocoons during the reeling process is essential for obtaining high-quality silk products. At present, silk reeling enterprises mainly rely on manual sorting, which is inefficient and labor-intensive. Automated sorting based on machine vision and sorting robots is a promising alternative. However, the accuracy and computational complexity of object detection are challenges for the practical application of automatic sorting, especially for small stains of inferior cocoons in images of densely distributed cocoons. To deal with this problem, an efficient fine-grained object detection network based on attention mechanism and multi-scale feature fusion, called AMMF-Net, is proposed for inferior silkworm cocoon recognition. In this model, fine-grained object features are key considerations to improve the detection accuracy. To efficiently extract fine-grained features of silkworm cocoon images, we designed an efficient hybrid feature extraction network (HFE-Net) that combines depth-wise separable convolution and Transformer as the backbone. It captures local and global information to extract fine-grained features of inferior silkworm cocoon images, improving the representation ability of the network. An efficient multi-scale feature fusion module (EMFF) is proposed as the neck of the object detection structure. It improves the typical down-sampling method of multi-scale feature fusion to avoid the loss of key information and achieve better performance. Our method is trained and evaluated on a dataset collected from multiple inferior cocoons. Extensive experiments validated the effectiveness and generalization performance of the HFE-Net network and the EMFF module, and the proposed AMMF-Net achieved the best detection results compared to other popular deep neural networks.

Pre-extension Demonstration and Popularization of Silk Production Technologies in South Ethiopia

The study was conducted in Shebadino, Tula and Wondogenet districts of Sidama regional state of southern Ethiopia from 2018 to 2023 with the objectives of to evaluate the performance of silk production technologies at various levels of silk production with stakeholders/beneficiaries. The study also aimed to create awareness and develop confidence among silkworm producers, development agents, agricultural experts and policy makers for wider dissemination. Nine kebeles’ (the lowest administrative level), were selected from three (3) districts for the purposes of this study. Five (5) farmers from each kebele were selected, totaling 45 farmers, for technology pre-scale up and promotion. Three rounds of theoretical and practical training were given to these farmers after they were selected. Training in the third round focused on managing row silk and cocoons after harvest, with a first round that covered broad knowledge and the importance of sericulture. Of the farmers who were chosen and trained, 95.6 percent were women who began raising silk worms, producing cocoons, and processing row silk. Each farmer received 30 kilograms of castor seed and 50 disease-free adult moths for pre-scaling up and promotion of the technology. During the first year of the study period, 90%, 50%, and 40% of the disease-free moths that were disseminated laid eggs and developed into cocoons at Shebadino, Tula sub city and Wondogenet districts respectively. Sericulture is very beneficial to young people, particularly women, in terms of providing a variety of employment options and viable income without affecting their regular agricultural activities or the existing sociocultural equilibrium. Sericulture technology with its package used, knowledge and skill of the farmers (users) on the technology upgraded, continuous follow up assured by DAs and experts. This study highlights the significance of sericulture for rural development and offers insightful information for its dissemination.

Study on the Challenges Encountered by Eri Silkworm Rearers in Tapioca Cultivation and Eri Rearing in Udalguri District of Assam

Sericulture, specifically eri silk production, plays a crucial role in sustainable rural development and employment generation. This study investigated the constraints faced tapioca cultivation and eri rearing in Udalguri district, Assam. Primary data were collected from 120 respondents through a snowball sampling technique. The rearers encountered personal, social, land utilization, rearing, managerial, economic, marketing, transportation, and institutional challenges. Notable issues included lack of formal education, high labour wages, land scarcity, inadequate rearing facilities, limited knowledge on scientific practices, insufficient capital, price fluctuations, poor marketing infrastructure, transportation costs, and lack of need-based training. The respondents suggested interventions such as government support for infrastructure and equipment, need-based training, formation of cooperatives, effective marketing channels, financial assistance, value-added product training, community rearing centers, land allocation, and extensive plantation of secondary feed plants. Addressing these constraints through targeted strategies is essential for fostering the long-term sustainability of eri silk production and enhancing the socio-economic status of rearers.

Heat-Insulated Regenerated Fibers with UV Resistance: Silk Fibroin/Al2O3 Nanoparticles.

The various wastes generated by silkworm silk textiles that are no longer in use are increasing, which is causing considerable waste and contamination. This issue has attracted widespread attention in countries that use a lot of silk. Therefore, enhancing the mechanical properties of regenerated silk fibroin (RSF) and enriching the function of silk are important directions to expand the comprehensive utilization of silk products. In this paper, the preparation of RSF/Al2O3 nanoparticles (NPs) hybrid fiber with different Al2O3 NPs contents by wet spinning and its novel performance are reported. It was found that the RSF/Al2O3 NPs hybrid fiber was a multifunctional fiber material with thermal insulation and UV resistance. Natural light tests showed that the temperature rise rate of RSF/Al2O3 NPs hybrid fibers was slower than that of RSF fibers, and the average temperature rose from 29.1 °C to about 35.4 °C in 15 min, while RSF fibers could rise to about 40.1 °C. UV absorption tests showed that the hybrid fiber was resistant to UV radiation. Furthermore, the addition of Al2O3 NPs may improve the mechanical properties of the hybrid fibers. This was because the blending of Al2O3 NPs promoted the self-assembly of β-sheets in the RSF reaction mixture in a dose-dependent manner, which was manifested as the RSF/Al2O3 NPs hybrid fibers had more β-sheets, crystallinity, and a smaller crystal size. In addition, RSF/Al2O3 NPs hybrid fibers had good biocompatibility and durability in micro-alkaline sweat environments. The above performance makes the RSF/Al2O3 NPs hybrid fibers promising candidates for application in heat-insulating and UV-resistant fabrics as well as military clothing.

Ultrastructure of silk threads of the water spider Argyroneta aquatica (Clerck, 1757) (Araneae, Cybeidae) in comparison with that of some mites

Silk of the water spider Argyroneta aquatica (Clerck, 1757) was obtained in the laboratory in the form of a capturing web irrespective of the formation of a diving bell and egg cocoon. Silk threads were examined by light microscopy, scanning (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) as well as by atomic force (AFM) microscopy. Based on the diameter and internal organization, the silk threads have been divided into five types—a-, b-, c-, d-, and e-types interlaced freely in the thread bundles taken for examinations. Threads of all types are infinitely long, non-branched, round in shape, uniform in width through their course, and rarely found to be ruptured. Threads of the a-type are mostly straight, up to 1,000 nm in diameter, and composed of a fibrillary wall enveloping an electron-dense vacuolated core, which may be occasionally absent. The wall may also become lost, leaving a single core substance surrounded by a slightly wrinkled double membrane. Threads of the b-, c-, and d-types are organized nearly identical, being composed of a fine granular electron-light uniform material enveloped by a fine membrane. The diameter of these threads varies from max. 500 nm in the b-type and 120 nm in the c-type to around 50 nm in the d-type. Threads of these types are more convoluted and more numerous than threads of the a-type. Threads of the last kind, the e-type, occur rarely and are significantly larger with a diameter of around 3.5–4.5 µm. They possess the layered membranous wall surrounding a uniformly dense core. The silk of the water mites Limnochares aquatica (L., 1758) and Limnesia maculata (O.F. Müller, 1776) is composed of threads of only one type that closely corresponded to the a-type threads of A. aquatica. Conversely, the silk of the two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae (C.L. Koch, 1836) consists of threads highly correlated with the d-type threads of A. aquatica. This finding shows that in different phylogenetic lineages of arachnids, the mechanisms of silk production are quite similar.

Gut Microbiota Analysis in Silkworms (Bombyx mori) Provides Insights into Identifying Key Bacterials for Inclusion in Artificial Diet Formulations.

The gut microbiome significantly influences the health and productivity of silkworms (Bombyx mori), the cornerstone of sericulture. With the increasing use of cost-effective artificial diets in sericulture, it is crucial to understand how these diets impact the silkworm gut microbiomes. Here we employed 16S rRNA sequencing to delineate the impact of three distinct dietary regimens on the silkworm gut microbiomes: exclusive mulberry leaf diet (SY), exclusive artificial feed diet (SL), and a sequential transition from artificial feed to mulberry leaves (ZS). Our results unveiled stark differences in microbial diversity across the groups, with the ZS group displaying an intermediary complexity. LefSe and random forest analyses identified Methylobacteriaceae, Microbacterium, and Rhodococcus as significantly enriched in the ZS group, suggesting their potential to facilitate silkworms' adaptation to dietary transitions. Functional profiling revealed differential pathway regulation, indicating a metabolic reconfiguration in response to dietary modulations. Notably, the enrichment of Lactobacillus and Weissella in both the SL and ZS groups highlights their potential as probiotics in artificial diets. Our findings provide insights into the diet adaptation mechanisms of silkworm gut microbiota, paving the way for harnessing the intestinal bacteria to enhance silkworm health and silk production through targeted microbial interventions in sericulture practices.

Sericulture in Jammu and Kashmir- A Review

Sericulture is considered as an age old occupation in Jammu and Kashmir. J&K has enormous potential for silk production empowering the farmers of J&K by increasing their income and employment (Dar et al., 2021).The raw silk produced in J&K is recognized across the globe. The size of land holding is less for sericulture activity compared to horticulture and agroforesrty. Farmers from about 20 districts of J&K take sericulture as the subsidiary occupation. Spring season crop (May-June) is the main crop in this region followed by second crop during September- October (Chouhan et al., 2016). Important mulberry varieties cultivated are Goshoerami, Ichinose, KNG, Kukusou 21, Sujanpur and Chak Majra (Shabnam et al., 2016). Silkworm races of commercial importance are DUN22, NB4D2, SK6, SKUAST-31, CSR18 and DUN6 (Buhroo et al., 2017). Sericulture is taken as a subsidiary occupation by about 33,000 rural households in J&K. Most of these families are economically backward and sericulture plays a crucial role for their livelihood. In order to empower these farm families productivity and quality of cocoons need to be improved by applying scientific package of practices. (Bhat et al., 2020). Inadequacy of mulberry leaves and lack of awareness on scientific technologies, ineffective marketing strategies are the hurdles for the progress of sericulture industry in J&K.

Unraveling the Impact of Geographical Indication on Consumer Preferences for Handloom Products

Handloom products represent an emotional significance in addition to their utilitarian function. It reminds us of the artistic skills and cultural uniqueness that exist in our nation. GI registrations have been granted to the handloom segment to protect the artists and maintain the authenticity of weaving. Due to a lack of knowledge about GI tag handloom products, consumers often face a dilemma when deciding whether or not to buy handloom products when other power-loomed fabrics are available. This study addresses the research gap by examining the factors contributing to consumers' willingness to buy Champa’s silk handloom products with GI tags. People generally associate the Champa region with the production of kosha silk. This study has brought in the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) as a base to develop a theoretical model for determining the intention to buy handloom products with GI tags. Using a convenient sampling approach, the researchers targeted potential handloom consumers as a demographic concern. A total of 250 questionnaires were distributed; out of those, 197 were deemed suitable for further study. The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) evaluates the behavioral characteristics of consumers while making purchases. The models were evaluated using the SmartPLS4 software. The findings showed that price veracity and consumer trust have a considerable positive impact on attitude. The handloom products with GI tags build potential trust among consumers on handloom products. Handloom store retailers should take the initiative to make consumers aware of the authenticity of their products, which prominently include GI certification labels on handloom items.

Comparative analysis of the intestinal flora of BmNPV-resistant and BmNPV-sensitive silkworm varieties

Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) is a very common and infectious virus that affects silkworms and hinders silk production. To investigate the intestinal flora of BmNPV-resistant and BmNPV-sensitive silkworm varieties, 16 S rDNA high-throughput sequencing was performed. The results of the cluster analysis showed that the intestinal flora of the resistant silkworm variety was more abundant than that of the sensitive silkworm variety. This was found even when infection with BmNPV caused a sharp decline in the number of intestinal floral species in both resistant and sensitive silkworm varieties. The abundances of the intestinal flora, including Aureimonas, Ileibacterium, Peptostreptococcus, Pseudomonas, Enterococcus, and Halomonas, in the resistant variety were considerably greater after infection with BmNPV than those in the sensitive variety. After infection with BmNPV, four kinds of important intestinal bacteria, namely, f_Saccharimonadaceae, Peptostreptococcus, Aureirmonas, and f_Rhizobiaceae, were found in the resistant silkworm variety. In the sensitive silkworm variety, only Faecalibaculum was an important intestinal bacterium. The differential or important bacteria mentioned above might be involved in immunoreaction or antiviral activities, especially in the intestines of BmNPV-resistant silkworms. By conducting a functional enrichment analysis, we found that BmNPV infection did not change the abundance of important functional components of the intestinal flora in resistant or sensitive silkworm varieties. However, some functional factors, such as the biosynthesis, transport, and catabolism of secondary metabolites (e.g., terpenoids and polyketides) and lipid transport and metabolism, were more important in the resistant silkworm variety than in the sensitive variety; thus, these factors may increase the resistance of the host to BmNPV. To summarize, we found significant differences in the composition, abundance, and function of the intestinal flora between resistant and sensitive silkworm varieties, especially after infection with BmNPV, which might be closely related to the resistance of resistant silkworm varieties to BmNPV.

Enhanced mechanical qualities of sericin‐removed silk by direct feeding of silkworms with cellulose nanofiber

AbstractRecently, the modification of silkworm silk fibers (SFs) by adding fillers has been investigated. Previously, we have reported that SFs obtained from silkworms fed diets supplemented with 5 wt.% cellulose nanofiber (CNF) and whose surface was covered with sericin exhibited excellent tensile properties. On the other hand, to use SF in silk products, the sericin must be removed, and it is necessary to ensure that CNF‐enriched silkworm SFs with the sericin removed (i.e., fibroin) exhibit high tensile properties. Therefore, this study evaluated the tensile properties of sericin‐removed SF obtained from silkworms fed a CNF diet. The results showed that the average CNF with SF—near 7.5 wt.% exhibited high mechanical properties. Adding CNF to the silkworm diet did not affect their growth and cocoon yield. The analysis of the SF microstructure confirmed that CNF is a fibrous material on the surface of fibroin. Kelly‐Tyson's equation suggested that almost all of the CNF in fibroin contributed to the increased tensile strength.

Fine mapping and candidate gene analysis of qSRC3 controlling the silk color in maize (Zea mays L.).

Fine mapping of the maize QTL qSRC3, responsible for red silk, uncovered the candidate gene ZmMYB20, which encodes an R2R3-MYB transcription factor, has light-sensitive expression, and putatively regulates genes expression associated with anthocyanin biosynthesis. Colorless silk is a key characteristic contributing to the visual quality of fresh corn intended for market distribution. Nonetheless, the identification of Mendelian trait loci and associated genes that control silk color has been scarce. In this study, a F2 population arising from the hybridization of the single-segment substitution line qSRC3MT1 with red silk, carrying an introgressed allele from teosinte (Zea mays ssp. mexicana), and the recurrent maize inbred line Mo17, characterized by light green silk, was utilized for fine mapping. We found that the red silk trait is controlled by a semi-dominant genetic locus known as qSRC3, and its expression is susceptible to light-mediated inhibition. Moreover, qSRC3 explained 68.78% of the phenotypic variance and was delimited to a 133.2kb region, which includes three genes. Subsequent expression analyses revealed that ZmMYB20 (Zm00001d039700), which encodes an R2R3-MYB transcription factor, was the key candidate gene within qSRC3. Yeast one-hybrid and dual-luciferase reporter assays provided evidence that ZmMYB20 suppresses the expression of two crucial anthocyanin biosynthesis genes, namely ZmF3H and ZmUFGT, by directly binding to their respective promoter regions. Our findings underscore the significance of light-inhibited ZmMYB20 in orchestrating the spatial and temporal regulation of anthocyanin biosynthesis. These results advance the production of colorless silk in fresh corn, responding to the misconception that fresh corn with withered colored silk is not fresh and providing valuable genetic resources for the improvement of sweet and waxy maize.