Wan Linrong, Deng Cao, Liu Binbin, Su Siyuan, Zhang Zhiyong, Jiang Yaming, Zou Bangxing, Liu Junfeng, Du Zhouhe, Zhang Youhong, Chen Peng, Xiao Wenfu
Sericultural Research Institute, Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences (SAAS), Nanchong, Sichuan, China.
State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Southwest University (SWU), Chongqing, China.
Sci Data. 2025 Mar 25;12(1):501. doi: 10.1038/s41597-025-04860-w.
The domesticated silkworm (Bombyx mori) is both economically significant and a valuable model organism. However, challenges persist in silk production, particularly in preserving silkworm cocoons. The wild silkworm (Bombyx mandarina), a close relative, with long-term pupal characteristics, could address storage and industrial silk production issues. We conducted interspecies hybridization between domestic and wild silkworms, successfully introducing the long-pupal period trait into the domestic silkworm through genomic integration. Here, we presented the telomere-to-telomere genome assemblies of three silkworm strains (KA, L, and M) with long-term pupal characteristics. The genome assembly sizes ranged from 453.82 Mb to 461.92 Mb, with high contig N50 values and completeness. We predicted over 14,000 protein-coding genes and identified strain-specific fragments. This research enriches the domestic silkworm pan-genome project and provides a foundation for further genetic studies. By introducing the trait, we have for the first time reported a phenomenon of genomic introgression between domestic and wild silkworm, and have also opened up a new avenue for silkworm breeding.
家蚕（Bombyx mori）在经济上具有重要意义，也是一种有价值的模式生物。然而，蚕丝生产仍面临挑战，尤其是在蚕茧保存方面。野生蚕（Bombyx mandarina）是家蚕的近亲，具有长期化蛹的特性，有望解决储存和工业蚕丝生产问题。我们进行了家蚕和野生蚕的种间杂交，通过基因组整合成功地将长蛹期性状引入到家蚕中。在此，我们展示了三种具有长期化蛹特性的蚕品系（KA、L和M）的端粒到端粒基因组组装。基因组组装大小在453.82 Mb至461.92 Mb之间，具有高的重叠群N50值和完整性。我们预测了超过14,000个蛋白质编码基因，并鉴定出了品系特异性片段。这项研究丰富了家蚕泛基因组计划，为进一步的遗传学研究奠定了基础。通过引入该性状，我们首次报道了家蚕和野生蚕之间的基因组渐渗现象，也为蚕的育种开辟了一条新途径。
