Metabonomic Analysis of Silkworm Midgut Reveals Differences between the Physiological Effects of an Artificial and Mulberry Leaf Diet

<i>Bombyx mori</i> is a model lepidopteran insect of great economic value. Mulberry leaves are its only natural food source. The development of artificial diets can not only resolve the seasonal shortage of mulberry leaves but also enable changes to be made to the feed composition accord...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Juan Li, Jing Deng, Xuan Deng, Lianlian Liu, Xingfu Zha
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-03-01
Series:Insects
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/14/4/347
Description
Summary:<i>Bombyx mori</i> is a model lepidopteran insect of great economic value. Mulberry leaves are its only natural food source. The development of artificial diets can not only resolve the seasonal shortage of mulberry leaves but also enable changes to be made to the feed composition according to need. Metabolomic differences between the midguts of male and female silkworms fed either on fresh mulberry leaves or an artificial diet were studied using liquid chromatography–mass spectrography (LC-MS/MS) analysis. A total of 758 differential metabolites were identified. Our analysis showed that they were mainly involved in disease resistance and immunity, silk quality, and silkworm growth and development. These experimental results provide insights into the formulation of optimized artificial feed for silkworms.
ISSN:2075-4450