21521139

not annotated - annotated - LINNAEUS only

A review of the implications of heterozygosity and inbreeding on germplasm biodiversity and its conservation in the silkworm, Bombyx mori.

Abstract Silkworm genebanks assume paramount importance as the reservoirs of biodiversity and source of alleles that can be easily retrieved for genetic enhancement of popular breeds. More than 4000 Bombyx mori L (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae) strains are currently available and these strains are maintained through continuous sibling mating. This repeated sibling mating makes the populations of each strain more homozygous, but leads to loss of unique and valuable genes through the process of inbreeding depression. Hence, it is essential to maintain a minimal degree of heterozygosity within the population of each silkworm strain, especially in the traditional geographic strains, to avoid such loss. As a result, accurate estimation of genetic diversity is becoming more important in silkworm genetic resources conservation. Application of molecular markers help estimate genetic diversity much more accurately than that of morphological traits. Since a minimal amount of heterozygosity in each silkworm strain is essential for better conservation by avoiding inbreeding depression, this article overviews both theoretical and practical importance of heterozygosity together with impacts of inbreeding depression and the merits and demerits of neutral molecular markers for measurements of both heterozygosity and inbreeding depression in the silkworm Bombyx mori.



Ann file

T1	Species 116 124	silkworm

N1 Reference T1 Taxonomy:7091

T2 Species 126 137 Bombyx mori

N2 Reference T2 Taxonomy:7091

T3 Species 150 158 Silkworm

N3 Reference T3 Taxonomy:7091

T4 Species 340 351 Bombyx mori

N4 Reference T4 Taxonomy:7091

T5 Species 756 764 silkworm

N5 Reference T5 Taxonomy:7091

T6 Species 927 935 silkworm

N6 Reference T6 Taxonomy:7091

T7 Species 1138 1146 silkworm

N7 Reference T7 Taxonomy:7091

T8 Species 1486 1494 silkworm

N8 Reference T8 Taxonomy:7091

T9 Species 1495 1506 Bombyx mori

N9 Reference T9 Taxonomy:7091