An electrophoretic study on haemolymph amylase in the silkworm, Bombyx mori L.

Abstract

By means of thin layer electrophoresis in agar gel, the zymograms of haemolymph amylase of silkworm larvae were investigated. Five types of amylase bands which migrated toward the anode with different mobility were found in the haemolymph of 51 strains of silkworm larvae, and they were named A, B, C, D and E respectively in accordance with the degree of their mobility. The amylase isozymes were strain specific, and isozyme of males and females of the same strain showed identical mobility. Of these 51 silkworm strains, 39 had only B-type amylase band in their haemolymph, three had A-type, one had D-type, and three had E-type. Only one strain had both C and E-type amylase bands, but 4 strains had no amylase band. No change in electrophoretic pattern of amylase was observed during the development of silkworm larvae.