Abstract
Agar gel electrophoretic technique was used to compare the multiple forms of esterase and phosphatase occurring in the wild silkworm, Theophila mandarina L., collected from various districts in Japan. When the zymogram patterns of acid phosphatase in blood of the wild silkworm were compared they could be grouped into two distinct types, Kanto and Kansai (east and west of Nagoya).
The analytical results of esterase in blood and of esterase and alkaline phosphatase from other organs could not be classified into two distinct types as described for acid phosphatase.
But for a few exceptions, similar esterase and phosphatase isozymes detected by the authors in domesticated silkworm, Bombyx mori L., could be observed. Hence the genes responsible for the production of the isozymes in both the species of silkworms may be similar. However, the frequency of the occurrence of these genes are different for each species.
Quantitative analysis revealed that the activities of esterase and alkaline phosphatase in the domesticated sikworm were often twice as that of the wild silkworm. Moreover, there are evidences to show that several genes found in the domesticated silkworm might be derived due to the duplication of primitive genes in the wild sikworm by unequal crossing over. A duplication of genes might have played an important role in the differentiation of Bombyx mori from Theophila mandarina, rather than a mutation.
