Metabolic reorganization in the silk gland of eri-silkworm, Philosamia ricini, during thermal acclimation.

The silk gland of eri-silkworm, Philosamia ricini, at the end of the 5th instar, presents an interesting augmentation of RNA (23.5%) and protein (47.1%) concentrations in conjunction with a decrease in amino acid/DNA ratio (64.4%) due to the cold adaptation. However, on the first day of spinning process, the protein/DNA ratio of the tissue undergoes a decrease of 22.9% in its level, which has been attributed to the "masking" of the protein biosynthesis due to the commencement of spinning process.