Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 23, 2026

Larval RNA Interference in Silkworm Bombyx mori through Chitosan/dsRNA Nanoparticle Delivery
Published on: October 4, 2024
Characterization of a gene encoding prohibitin in silkworm, Bombyx mori
Zhengbing Lv1, Xufang Zhang, Lili Liu
1Institute of Biochemistry, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, 310018, China.
Background:
Prohibitin (PHB) is an evolutionarily conserved multifunctional protein with ubiquitous expression. However, its molecular roles are largely unknown.
Methods:
To better understand the function of prohibitin protein in silkworm (BmPHB), its coding sequence was isolated from a cDNA library of silkworm pupae. An His-tagged BmPHB fusion protein was expressed in Escherichia coli Rosetta (DE3) and purified with affinity and reversed-phase chromatography. Purified rBmPHB was used to generate anti-BmPHB polyclonal antibody. The subcellular localization of BmPHB was analysed by immunohistochemistry.
Results:
BmPHB gene has an ORF of 825 bp, encoding a predicted peptide with 274 amino acid residues. Immunostaining indicate that prohibitin is expressed in nucleus and predominately in cytoplasm. Western blot analyses indicated that, in the fifth instar larva, BmPHB was expressed descendingly in gonad, malpighian tubule, trachea, fatty body, intestine, and head. However, no expression was detected in larva's silk gland and epidermis. In addition, BmPHB was expressed in the nascent egg, larva and pupa, but not in the moth.
Conclusions:
The expression of BmPHB gene presents differential characteristic in different stage and tissues. It may play important roles in the development of silkworm.
General Significance:
Studies on prohibitin have been still restricted to a few specific insects and insect cell lines such as Drosophila, Acyrthosiphon pisum and mosquito cell lines, not yet in silkworm. This is a first characterization of prohibitin in silkworm, B. mori.
Related Concept Videos
Globular and Fibrous Proteins
Globular proteins are also known as spheroproteins and typically are approximately round in shape. They contain a mix of amino acid types and contain differing sequences in their primary structures. Globular proteins have many different functions, such as enzymes, cellular messengers, and molecular transporters. These roles often require the proteins to be...
Position-effect Variegation
Exon Recombination
Exon shuffling follows “splice frame rules.” Each exon has three reading...
Genomic Imprinting and Inheritance
The expression of some genes depends on which parent passed the gene to the offspring, through a phenomenon known as...
Heterochromatin
Constitutive heterochromatin: It is a highly compact region of chromatin that is mostly concentrated in the centromere and telomere. Unlike euchromatin, the amino acid at 9th...
Dosage Compensation
In addition to sexual development, the X chromosome has genes involved in autosomal functions such as brain development and the immune system. Therefore, males and females with distinct numbers of X chromosomes will have...

