Fei Jian

Efficient and stable generation of transgenic silkworm, Bombyx mori with the lepi-dopteran derived transposon piggyBac

The piggyBac transposable element was successfully used for generation of the transgenic silkworm, Bombyx mori. The EGFP was adopted in this study as a screening marker in transgenic vector under the control of an artificial promoter containing Pax-6 binding sites that can drive eye-specific genes expression in various insect species including B. mori and Drosophila. 111 independent transgenic lines were obtained among 700 fertile Go moths. Most of the transgenic lines contained two or more chromosomal insertions of the EGFP marker, which were stably inherited over more than six generations during the time of this project. PiggyBac-mediated transposition was confirmed by identifying the characteristic TTAA duplication sequence at the insertion sites. The stable and high efficient transmission of a genetic marker into B. mori confirms the usage of this vector-marker system for industrial production and theoretical research.